Is America still great?

I have criticized Thomas Friedman for supporting every trade agreement he has ever seen, despite not reading one of them. His past (and continued?) lemming-like support for trade agreements has pushed America into these troubles.

"We got this free market, and I admit, I was speaking out in Minnesota--my hometown, in fact, and guy stood up in the audience, said, `Mr. Friedman, is there any free trade agreement you'd oppose?' I said, `No, absolutely not.' I said, `You know what, sir? I wrote a column supporting the CAFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade initiative. I didn't even know what was in it. I just knew two words: free trade."

But he makes some good points today, in an op-ed on whether America is still strong.

Traveling the country these past five months while writing a book, I’ve had my own opportunity to take the pulse, far from the campaign crowds. My own totally unscientific polling has left me feeling that if there is one overwhelming hunger in our country today it’s this: People want to do nation-building. They really do. But they want to do nation-building in America.

Nation building in the U.S. is a good idea. But we are following the U.K. trajectory of decline. Giving away the riches of the realm for foreign policy reasons on trade, pursuing expensive military action in pipsqueak countries, allowing our production to be shipped overseas, and financing it all on credit cards and subprime mortgages.

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