Are the US heading towards political and economic suicide?

The image of Uncle Sam has been greatly diminished in most of the world. This had not so much to do with Americans as with the political regime that currently sits in the White House. Most Americans agree that the war on Iraq and the mishandling of the sub-prime crisis will cost the US trillions of dollars over the next 10 years. I just finished reading “The Three Trillion Dollar War” by Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz, who paints a bleak but realistic picture of the true cost of America’s wars. Even so, the true cost in loss of image and increased mistrust of US goods and policy can’t be calculated in dollars. Talking of dollars, the depreciation of currency makes it harder to export to the US but won’t have a large effect on trading partners like China, if they play their cards right. The internal markets of Asia and Europe combined have more potential then the ever shrinking buying power of American consumers can provide.

You would think that the Democrats, who have been standing idly by as Bush and his neo con coalition of the willing invaded a country, whose only mistake was that it had a crazy dictator for president, would take this opportunity to do some old fashioned Republican bashing. United we stand, divided we fall indeed! The race for the White House still looks more like a slugfest between Obama and Clinton than between Reps and Dems. You would think that Bush, with his stubborn refusal to abandon his rightwing corporate cronies would have dug a deep grave for his party that is impossible to get out of. On the contrary, the Democratic in-fight is actually paving a smooth road for yet another Republican presidency.

I must say, John McCain is playing it very smart and very professional. He keeps his support for the war in Iraq, without supporting the way the Bush administration is waging it. He has an image of an outsider in the Republican party, which he will use once it is clear who his opponent will be. If it’s Obama he can play his “I’m a seasoned veteran and an experienced politician” card. If it’s Clinton, he has the “I’m not a free spending Liberal” card (even though under Republican rule, the US has squandered billions more than under any past Democrat government) or even the “I’m not an extension of the Clinton clan” card. Off course his emphasis will be on his differences with Bush and how he will be the Republican guy that will make everything better. To become president he will have to charm the “swing voters” so he can't be too closely associated with the unpopular current administration. Right now, the choice is not so much between the best candidates but who the least bad will be. Clinton and Obama should have united their forces long ago, but instead are still dragging each other through the mud of the, as of yet unpaved, road to the White House.

So what will happen if the damage the Democrats have inflicted upon themselves is too large? McCain will win off course. He will distance himself just enough from his predecessor to distinguish himself as "different" but not enough to alienate the corporate sponsors that got him in the driver seat. What will this mean for the war in Iraq? A fast exit strategy will not be on the agenda. Too many Republican sponsors have an interest in prolonging the war. Eric Prince and his Blackwater mercenaries have worked too hard to win the favor of the current administrators and will certainly try to retain their influence on a new Neo con cabinet. So will Halliburton and the hundreds of other companies who invested heavily in the Bush camp. From a political point of view the result will be even worse. With a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican president every major decisions will become part of the political chess game. "If you support my budget proposition for yet another year in Iraq, I will not veto your child welfare bill."

Stiglitz can already make preparations for his sequel, “The Six Trillion Dollar War”. In the meantime the rest of the world will turn its back to America and the dollar and look towards the new economic giants, China, India and even Russia. I shudder to think what it will mean for the crumbling US infrastructure. Road, railway and sewer systems in large parts of the country are in dire need of renovation. As long as the billions go towards an external war and are not invested in domestic economy, the flames that fuel the economy will die down and ultimately extinguish. At that point the foundation that made the US economy the largest in the world will start to crumble as buying power becomes too low to spend on consumer goods. The rift between poor Americans who depend on local companies for jobs and income and rich Americans who can invest abroad will become ever larger.

Let’s hope I’m exaggerating and that who ever will be in the White House won’t be as stubborn, stupid and greedy as George W. Bush. The mistakes he has made and still makes have already been made before. The name of the place where that happened, was Rome.