When Bush II entered the White House, courtesy of the SCOTUS, he found a full treasury, bases and vassals all over the world, and little or no opposition to American hegemony. Obama is facing a prospect of a world in which opposition to and resentment of the American Empire are substantial; vassals are few and unreliable; and the government debt so big it defies comprehension. The American economy is tottering, while foreign governments that were willing to fund U.S. credit expansion are increasingly reluctant to continue doing so.