Will America's Good Name Survive the 2016 Election?

The campaign shenanigans might end on Nov. 8, but the damage done to America's reputation could be insurmountable.

Assuming, Hillary Clinton is elected president next week, the collective sigh of relief heard 'round the world could well be deafening.

Way back in June (i.e., before the revelations about Trump's fondness for groping women surfaced), a Pew Research Center survey found that more 80 percent of Swedes, Germans, French, British, Japanese and Australians, had "no confidence" in Trump's ability to handle foreign affairs. Their skepticism wasn't surprising, insofar as the Republic nominee had already revealed himself to be the living embodiment of the "Ugly American" stereotype: a bumptious blowhard who knows little about foreign policy and isn't troubled by his own ignorance. There are undoubtedly some U.S. rivals who will be disappointed by his defeat: the Islamic State will be deprived [of] an ideal recruiting poster, Putin won't have an admirer in the White House, and Xi Jinping won't get to go up against rank amateur with a short attention span and long record of failure. For the rest of the world, however, it will be a moment to exhale and to be grateful for a bullet dodged....

Continue reading (log in may be required): http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/04/will-americas-image-survive-the-2016-election-trump-clinton/