The dollar is buying less around the world...

Time to start investing in those Euros.

I know that one man is not solely responsible for this but President Bush's economic policies over the last 6 1/2 years have produced short term gains that will eventually lead to long term financial insecurity for our children and grandchildren.

Our place in the global economy is strong but weakening. We have been a hegemonic power for about 15 years militarily and economically and this has made us forget that eventually other countries and organizations will try and counteract our influence to balance out the world. They will string us along for as much time it takes to marginalize our power on both fronts. China, India, OPEC and the European Union have been chipping away economically for the last 10 years. When the time is right, those countries with the means to do so will pounce.

Our war of choice in Iraq has fractured our military resources. Thumbing our nose at the United Nations has shown our willingness to work with other countries. We have effectively isolated ourselves by pushing our agenda around the world with our military might as a stick while holding our economic strength as a carrot for other countries to eat. What happens when our stick is no longer effective and you can find carrots elsewhere?

The U.S. could be left behind like the British in the mid-twentieth century. The larger problem is that we might still feel that we can act globally without impunity. That could be our downfall.

It doesn't have to happen this way. We still have time to change our course. We need new leadership in 2008. The Democrats just have to be bold enough to grasp it.