[BITList] superpower in decline!

[CT's]

going, going, gone..............................................!
      is anger, conspiracy theories, and intemperate talk show rhetoric to blame? 
      ct

      Christian Science Monitor
      By Robert Marquand, Staff Writer / January 10, 2011 

      Paris 
      European reaction to the Gabrielle Giffords Arizona shooting is seen strongly through the lens of the tea party rhetoric and as symptomatic of a superpower in decline and at the mercy of “radical” politics. 

      Skip to next paragraph 
        a..  
        View gallery: Arizona shooting vigils 

      Related Stories
        a.. Gabrielle Giffords shooting: a leadership moment for Obama, Boehner 
        b.. Why Americans are so angry
      With significant play in London, Berlin, and Paris, the actions of alleged shooter Jared Lee Loughman are seen as typically American and not surprising in Arizona, where citizens can carry concealed handguns without a permit, something considered unthinkable here. 

      The Giffords story in Europe today mirrored questions in US media about the degree to which anger, conspiracy theories, and intemperate talk show rhetoric is to blame either for the context of the shooting. 

      Related: Why Americans are so angry

      France's daily Le Monde asked if Ms. Giffords’ shooting “is the tea party’s fault?” and Le Figaro’s Washington correspondent opined that “The political climate in the US is sick.” The London-based Economist asked today “Are Words to Blame?” Agence France-Presse described “Hate rhetoric is in target sights,” in the US. 

      Much of the German editorial position on Giffords was strongly accusatory of the political climate in the US in recent years. 

      The conservative Die Welt stated today that: “This murderous attack came from an atmosphere of discord and self-doubt, because America is experiencing the limits of its power on a daily basis, whether it be on distant fronts or with dissatisfaction at home. It has never been like this. There always was the motto: ‘Yes, we can.’ Today, widespread pessimism prevails, because of the financial crisis, and because of Iraq and Afghanistan, lost battles ..."





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