I am currently reading The Limits of Power by Andrew J. Bacevich (US Army Ret.).  In it he states: "FDR's predecessors has presided over a republic.  Central to the functioning of that republic was a set of checks and balances to limit the concentration of political power.  Truman's successors presided over a system defined by the concentration of power, both in Washington, and within Washington in the executive branch."

JFK began the Imperial Presidency and it remains intact today.  Presidents no longer seek the blessing of Congress to take a military action anywhere in the world.  If they perceive something as a threat to national security, they act: send troops, bomb cities and people into oblivion.

Such actions by Imperial Presidents have caused huge expenditures of money (much of it borrowed from China and other countries) to the point of bankrupting the United States as we know it.  How long can this go on?  

Neither Obama or Romney dare talk about such things because they are afraid they will lose the election if they talk about the truth and talk about reality.  Much of the American electorate sees this and knows this and refuses to vote because what difference does it make?  Whoever becomes President will march on with some grandiose idea that we are making the world a better place by imposing our will militarily upon areas we have no business being in.  Why did we deploy troops to Iraq?  (There were no weapons of mass destruction found there as Bush and Cheney proclaimed to us). The answer is simple: to keep oil flowing...and oh yes to get Sadaam Hussein.  Remember, Bush is from Texas and from oil.  Why did we deploy troops to Afghanistan (after the Russians pulled out after a dismal 10 year siege)?  The answer is simple: to get Bin Laden.  OK we got both of those despots....now what?

We have set up democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan.  What a joke!  As soon as we completely pull out of Iraq, the Sunni's and Shiites will have at one another.  As soon as we pull out of Afghanistan, the tribal chiefs will assume power again.  Democracies in both countries will suddenly disappear just like the lives of thousands of American service personnel and billions of dollars.  The expenditure of life and of money will have accomplished little or perhaps nothing.  We spent 20 years in Vietnam (1955-1975) and as soon as we pulled out, Vietnam became one large communist country.  Again after the expenditure of lives and money, very little was accomplished in the end.  If we do not learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it.

What does the man in the street think about this or care about this?  I would venture to say very few people think or care about the situation.  The majority of people are happy as long as they have food, cigarettes, alcohol, cars, jobs, and of course money coming in.  During WWII, we had rationing and we sacrificed as a country for five years as the war was fought in Europe and the Pacific.  The American people have not been asked to sacrifice  during the 11 year war in the Middle East and Asia like they were during WWII.  Today, of course, we have massive unemployment (higher than the reported figures) that did not exist in WWII because America industrialized to fight the war and everyone worked who was physically able and who was not in the military.

Doomsayers say the end of American life as we know and enjoy it is close at hand unless things are turned around, but neither Obama or Romney are going to accomplish this.  Perhaps the Mayan calendar will prove correct.  The end comes in 2012.