If anti-American passions are at an all time high - that matters. For example, if the 9/11 attacks had happened to Stalin’s Russian, we’d have thought that was a good thing; or at least something they deserved because they brought it on themselves. So is that how we expect the rest of the world to feel about us? Well that is the direction that world sentiment is taking.

Another example, if the 9/11 attacks had happened to Mao’s China, we’d have thought that was a good thing; or at least something they deserved because they brought it on themselves. So is that how we expect the rest of the world to feel about Israel? Well that’s the direction world sentiment is headed.

In our dreams we’d have wanted American capitalism and/or Israeli democracy to be the paradigm for third world emerging nations. Well - news, no one is looking at America or Israel as the model for what they should become. They are looking at Chavez’ socialism in the western hemisphere; they are looking at North Korean nuclear weaponry in the Middle East; they are looking at Bin Laden theocracy in Africa and the Muslim world.

This is more mattersome than speeches. This is the reality of the Bush doctrine. Should we all be reading books? Try 1984.