[nathanbedford]

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.

[thefrankbaum]

Thank you. I was not aware you had argued these points in the past; that said, I'm in agreement with you generally, although I don't believe he will have enough political capital domestically to achieve many of those ends. Approval ratings in the 50s is not enough to galvanize public will to pursue such a course, and, while a terrorist event would steel the public to pursue such a course, it would justify the accusations of Cheney et al. that he has made the country less safe.