China is Republican

Not republican, like Thomas's Paine or Jefferson. Republican like Thomas's DeLay or Clarence. They unafraid of going for the jugular like Karl Rove, and they're as unashamed of making money as Bill Frist.

But more significantly, China is Republican and the rest of the world is a bunch of Democrats.

China has a plan for what it wants to do, where it wants to be, and what it wants to become. The means it follows to get there? Secondary to actually getting there. It's no so much a question of being Machiavellian or if the ends justify the means. It's more about whether or not the cat catches mice.

China wants to be a world power. Not because it thinks it would be cooler if it was. It wants to be a world power because it's tired of being pushed around, cajoled, and strong-armed into things it doesn't like simply because it doesn't have the wherewithall to push back.

So it's pursuing it's interests. Cautiously when it has to. Boldly when it can. Here is an example of the latter. These are becoming more common all the time.

Why is the rest of the world like a bunch of Democrats, then? Because the world sees China's rise--economically and militarily, but doesn't know what to do about it. Of course the U.S. would like China to remain an incredible source of low-cost goods and labor, without having to worry about Chinese aggregate economic power. But it's not to be. The U.S. would like to be able to be the only 800 lb. gorilla in the world energy market, but it's not to be. We'd like to be financially autonomous and independent of foreign speculation in our securities markets, but it's not to be.

The first sign of a fall is when those who have power stop striving to innovate, create, develop and grow, and instead hunker down behind rules and formulations and platitudes to the status quo. Like "liberals" who's goal it is to "go back" to the glory days of the 60s, when government social programs were youthful and energetic, when labor unions were strong, and when every yard had a picket fence. Talking about how good things "should" be, if other people played by the same rules one wished is a far cry from taking steps to see that one's priorities are actually accomplished.

This is the difference between the Republicans and Democrats (respectively); and China and everyone else (respectively).