Abe Greenwald writes:

If Ms. Paglia finds the U.S.'s "reputation in tatters," she’s describing some internal or personal state of perception.

The gulf between the continued complacency of the neocons and the reality of America's position in the world is staggering. And that is a core divider in this election: do you believe that the US is in a crisis - economically, diplomatically, militarily and in terms of soft power? I do. If you think things are basically fine - that a massive unending war (now more expensive than Vietnam and financed by borrowing) is no big deal, that the unprecedented levels of public and private debt are trivial, that politics revolves around professional Rove-Morris tactics rather than any serious engagement with public policy - then a vote for Obama makes little sense. But I'm with Camille. Again.