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For example, I did not imply that the end of the Nimitz class construction program was anything but in the natural order of things. My fears about the eclipsing of American power projection capability do not have much to do with the loss of this technology which is inevitable, as another poster points out, in the age of drones, missiles, and satellites.

You originally said the ending of the Nimitz-class is an ominous omen for American power - I assumed that statement was tied to loss of the platform, rather than a general "the world is changing" statement. Apparently you were speaking more in terms of the latter. I mis-read your original post. Sorry.

To the contrary I stated the proposition about Obamas intention to project power or to refrain from projecting power in the alternative.

Well, maybe causation was not the correct term. Perhaps relevance is. I did not see the interplay between Obama's objectives and the ending of the Nimitz-class. In fact, I still don't.

Are you taking issue for its own sake?

Not at all. I believe you and I have had some fruitful discussions in the past, and was merely trying to understand the various points you had offered.

I meant to say that the last carrier in the Nimitz class is an iconic event. Our carriers have represented the ability of our presidents to project power since Midway.

Somehow we seem to be at a watershed and the matter of USS George HW Bush is an occasion to reflect on whether our country will be willing or even able to continue to be the policeman of the world.

I have several times posted that we may be misreading Obama if we think he is going to be a pushover in international affairs in the mold of Jimmy Carter. I leave open the possibility that Obama might be very aggressive in the use of force, I have even suggested that war is far more likely under a leftist like Barack Obama than under the likes of George Bush. If Obama thinks that he will compromise his power at home if he is weak abroad, I do not think he will be discouraged in the least by a count of body bags. If he thinks he can project a version of leftism abroad, I think he will do so. My point is that leftists, after they have actually attained power, can be very bloody-minded in the preservation or extension of that power.

Our carriers have always been a platform to project power, one wonders what Obama will do in that realm whether or not to project power from a flat top or from a weapon in space.