America, the Fat, Dumb, and Happy:

Over the past century, Americans have become accustomed to winning every global battle that mattered: two world wars, the space race, the Cold War, the Internet gold rush. Along the way, Americans have enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and lived lives that were the envy of the rest of the world.

It was nice while it lasted.

Can America Keep Up? Why so many smart folks fear that the United States is falling behind in the race for global economic leadership By Richard J. Newman, U.S. News & World Report, 3/27/06

Two decades go Europeans, Australians, etc. used to tell me the U.S. was complacent. That was nothing compared to now, when the U.S. has pulled over into the slow lane.