Thomas Friedman at the New York Times: Few Americans are aware of how much America has lost in this recent episode of bringing the American economy to the edge...

Thomas Friedman at the New York Times: Few Americans are aware of how much America has lost in this recent episode of bringing the American economy to the edge of a cliff, said Kishore Mahbubani, the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. People always looked up to America as the best-run country, the most reasonable, the most sensible. Now people are asking: 'Can America manage itself and what are the implications for us if it can't? In talking to Asian college students, teachers, diplomats and businesspeople, here is how I'd distill what was on their minds: Are you really going to shut down your government again? Who does that? And, by the way, don't think that doesn't affect my business over here, because I'm holding a lot of dollars and I don't know what their value is going to be? (VIEW LINK)