Well, record debt and deficit.
Horrific perception of the US abroad.
The propensity to repeat the same mistakes over and over.
Number 1 target for terrorism.
Sure this has been the case for what seems like ages BUT that kind of is the point.
And no, it isn't just the USA of course.
I agree that all of those things are problems, but blaming them all on politicians makes no sense to me.
The deficit, for example, really exploded when Reagan massively increased military spending while lowering taxes, yet a lot of conservatives worship him. And in his defense, the huge increase in military spending did bankrupt the Soviets and end the Cold War. So I guess the question is whether or not it was worth it. That's a complex question.
The perception issue is unfortunate. The Bush Administration really hurt our national prestige. That neocon obsession with nation-building worked out poorly for all involved. Obama's failure to hold Syria to his Red Line threat made it worse. Still, I don't think it's fair to ignore all of the good decisions made by politicians. And since we're talking about how a neophyte might do things better, let's take a second remember that hawkish Bush-era neo-con and Putin enemy John Bolton is on the short list for SecState. Think that would help our national prestige?
The propensity for repeating mistakes is another way of saying that our way of doing things is not a good way. That may be true. I guess it depends on how you look at it. For example, our troubled relationship with Iran goes back to our decision to overthrow an elected government for nationalizing the foreign oil companies that had taken over their oil fields. Should we have sat on our hands and let them do that?
So yeah, you've identified legitimate concerns, but I think it's important to remember that every decision is made for a reason, and sometimes blowback is something that we just have to expect and deal with.
