From my most recent NRO article, on U.S. standing in the world:

It has become a cliché to say that the U.S. is in decline. It is certainly true, but need not be irreversible, and the country has been there before. It was in decline when the Watergate debacle destroyed a successful presidency and the long and costly enterprise in Vietnam ended terribly on the helipad on the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon. But 15 years later, the country was at a unique pinnacle as the world’s only superpower. Not even the Roman Empire enjoyed such eminence, though its rivals, Persia and China, were (unlike their current status) too distant to be seriously bothersome. What is unusual now is that all the Great Powers are in decline, except China — and that country’s rise is at least a third composed of a public-relations flim-flam job.

Whether you agree or disagree, your comments are, as always, most welcome.