Faltering world economy offers challenges and opportunities for US and PE Obama

[DCBob]

Global Woes Pose Risks, Also Openings for US
Faltering world economy poses big risks, but also some openings, for President-elect Obama
WASHINGTON December 14, 2008 (AP) The Associated Press

The economic slump roaring across the world's geopolitical map poses weighty challenges, as well as some unexpected opportunities, for President-elect Barack Obama.

(AP)Japan and major European countries have joined the United States in falling into recession. China has seen its remarkable three-decades long export-fueled rise slowed. Oil-based economies on Washington's worry list such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela, are reeling, too.

The U.S. led the rest of the world into the economic crisis, and many global players hope Washington can lead the world out. International investments pouring into low-interest U.S. Treasury securities in recent weeks show that, even if the U.S. has lost prestige internationally in recent years, it's still deemed one of the safest places to park money.

The financial crisis drives home to other nations that "without an America that is successful financially, economically and therefore also politically, they're not going to be successful," said Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. "If we don't function well, no one functions well."

more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6458219
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I think Brzezinski's statement that "If we don't function well, no one functions well" is significant and makes this situation different than other US economic crises in the past. For better or worse, the world needs a healthy America -- we are the economic engine of this planet. I hope though we do not just simply focus on "saving" America and reviving global commerce back to the level it was before this crisis started because commerce and consumption at that level it is unsustainable. Sure there are opportunities for US to make economic hay out of this situation but we also have an opportunity now to reevaluate and rethink the cost/benefits of overheated global trade and commerce. Let's hope our brilliant new President and his team take these issues into consideration.