Managing decline

The New York Times, with no particular alarm and perhaps even a bit of schadenfreude, reports that the United States has lost some of its allure:

In 1987, on the Constitution's bicentennial, Time magazine calculated that of the 170 countries that exist today, more than 160 have written charters modeled directly or indirectly on the U.S. version.

A quarter-century later, the picture looks very different.

No doubt there are other contributing factors, but the first thing that springs to mind is that in 1987 Ronald Reagan was celebrating "morning in America," while in 2012 Barack Obama is leading from behind. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford