Mayor of Minneapolis takes picture with thug

Originally posted by DeepThought
Economic power is a requirement if you want to operate more aircraft carriers than anyone else. Even more so if you want soft power. I tend to agree with what you are saying in your first full paragraph though, it's not like the US has suddenly turned into a banana republic.

On the margins, perhaps. But the Soviet Union was able to match the US military strength and foreign influence with a much weaker economy.