A Loss of Influence

I got an e-mail this morning asking me to write about the opinion piece by David Gergen on CNN. Gergen wories that the US is losing its influence on the world stage. He points to the total failure by Obama to secure a trade deal with south Korea and the rejection of the US viewpoint at the g-20 meeting that was just completed. His view can be summed up by these sentences from his column: "For too long, the U.S. has been seen by a growing number of other nations as acting recklessly with our finances. Within less than a generation, we have fallen from being the world's biggest creditor to the world's biggest debtor. Fingers are also pointed at us for causing the Great Recession.

We increasingly face a stark choice: Either we get our economic house in order or we will lose much of our influence -- and our leadership -- on the world stage."

In my opinion, Gergen is only stating the obvious. He does miss one major point, however. It seems that there are no major economies left that hold the economic views of Obama and his administration. The UK, France and Germany are undergoing austerity while Obama still wants to spend his way out of the recession. China, India and Brazil are pushing towards a marketplace that is ever more free and capitalistic while Obama pushes more government regulation and less market freedom. It is an amazing turn of events. For 45 years during the cold war, the US was the champion of free markets while the old Soviet Union was the icon for those who believe that government control of the economy was best. Each of the countries mentioned above either flirted with socialism or went for it all the way. Now that these other countries have finally realized the flawed nature of the socialist system, the US had, for the first time, elected a committed leftist as it president. Is it any wonder that the other countries reject his economic views? I am surprised that we do not just hear other world leaders tell Obama "Been there, done that" and call it a day.

Gergen is correct that the US needs to get its house in order. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the rest of the world will listen to Obama so long as he spouts outdated and discredited ideas.