I'm in the UK, and I'm listening closely to what this obviously talented woman has had to say. I have no quarrel with the messenger, but the message (which she certainly didn't write herself, as she has a team of speechwriters with her)is the real problem. The gist of it seems to be that America perceives that their particular and peculiar version of Western Liberal Democracy, as justified by fundamentalist Christianity is the only acceptable form of governance for any nation state, ever, anywhere in the world. Any alternative approaches are to be either despised or pitied, and where possible subverted or overthrown. There is simply no recognition that other forms of government predated the formation of the USA, and some of them work a good deal better for their people and their society at any given time. All societies and systems of government go through cycles of rise and decline; the trick is to adapt and change the mode of governance to suit the times and the world environment. America is prosperous and powerful at the moment; so was Rome, and it signally failed to accommodate to changing times. (Gibbon's classic 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'for those who are interested)

For me, this lack of tolerance is the first sign of America's decline as an influence for good in the world. I regret that, as I recognise the enormous good she has done, and the potential for more. America at the moment (perhaps I mean 'the American Government') is making no real effort to understand the world as it is, rather than how it would like the world to be; small wonder that this attitude is so resented in so many quarters.
Tim from Bit on the Side