CHANGE: OBAMA AT THE G-20: “Underlying all of this is an inconvenient truth: The U.S. president is no longer the undisputed boss-man of the world. In fact, at gatherings such as the G-20, it is becoming increasingly hard to assert that he is even primus inter pares—first among equals. Given the insurrectionary mood in the global economic hierarchy, led by a hyper-assertive China and an exasperated Germany, an American president debilitated by political defeat at home and genuine policy incoherence in his own agenda cuts a pretty sorry figure.”

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Obama wanted to take down the U.S. in the eyes of the world. He elevated himself above the presidency and thought the world would likewise elevate him and see him apart from America. What he did not know is that the president is one of the symbols of the country. Diminish the country and its symbols lose standing. In addition, the rest of the world has been looking at him and sees a man who is much less than the country. In some parts of the world, America still has standing. Barack Obama, not so much.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Another email:

You know, I don’t understand our political class. Congress allows more and more of its power to pass to the President, thus making itself less important – while acting all-powerful. ( Check out all those czars! )

Now Obama is managing a decline of the United States, but still expects his position as President to have the same weight and authority. You get the impression that Obama believes he is the power, not the office he holds.

If these progressives succeed in downgrading the United States, they will be astonished to find that the rest of the world’s leaders will care less and less about anything they want – carbon reduction schemes, trade balance adjustments, human rights advocacy, and especially the advance of freedom and democracy.

And, of course, it will all be UNEXPECTED!

Geez. Bunch of losers.

Indeed.