"the European Union is cracking up. The Arab world is cracking up. China’s growth model is under pressure and America’s credit-driven capitalist model has suffered a warning heart attack and needs a total rethink."
Thanks, Tom, for enlightening us with regard to these developments. At least in Friedman's description of the Middle East unrest, we are spared past blather concerning the "Arab Spring" and blithe expectations for democracy. Rather, realism has set hold in Friedman's head, and he now warns, "Hope for the best, prepare for anything."
Okay, so we're in deep dudu. What is Tom's answer to these travails?:
"When the world is experiencing so many wrenching changes at once — with already high unemployment and weak economies — the need for America, the most important pillar of all, to be rock solid is greater than ever. If we don’t get our act together — which will require collective action normally reserved for wartime — we are not going to just be prolonging an American crisis, but feeding a global one."
"Collective action reserved for wartime"? And is our wartime president mustering our forces in the face of this calamity? Sadly, Obama was forced to cut short his vacation in Martha's Vineyard owing to the approach of Hurricane Irene. No small wonder that Friedman, aware that "Change we can believe in" will not occur during Obama's current term in office, is also beginning to hint at the need for an alternative third party.
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