Bush a catalyst in America's declining influence

Source: Los Angeles Times

Bush a catalyst in America's declining influence

The president oversaw a period of eroding economic and political power, in which the rise of China, India and others was a major factor, but assisted by an aversion to him and his policies.

By Paul Richter
December 25, 2008

As President Bush's term comes to a close, the United States has the world's largest economy and its most powerful military. Yet its global influence is in decline.


The United States emerged from the Cold War a solitary superpower whose political and economic leverage often enabled it to impose its will on others. Now, America usually needs to build alliances -- and often finds that other powers aren't willing to go along.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bush-world25-2008dec25,0,4293325.story

From our Friends at Wikipedia:

Catalysis is the process in which the rate of a chemical reaction is increased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed. Thus, the catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations, although in practice catalysts are secondary processes.

It seems a rather flattering description to me.

and it does not imply the evil intentionality that was behind BushCo and the minions.

Perhaps if they had an adjective such as EVIL preceding it, I might be able to agree.


# (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected
# something that causes an important event to happen; "the invasion acted as a catalyst to unite the country"

Bush allied himself with real Imperialists who sought to leverage the U.S. position of sole superpower to gain economic advantage all over the world - to add fuel to the fire of "continuous economic expansion" that capitalism needs to thrive under the philosophies of the pirate capitalists that control the U.S. economy. That he was too weak a President to pull this off, even after being given the "gift" of 9-11 to sanction PNAC's long-planned invasion and occupation of Iraq, with its oil riches, illustrates both the failure of Bush the man, but also PNAC the plan.

immediately before the word, "catalyst". It's a term that is often used metaphorically and seems spot on to me - if rather too anodyne without the kind of qualification I suggest.

nt