America’s Sputnik Moment in Beijing
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics may someday be remembered as the first day of the post-American era. Or it could be remembered as another "Sputnik" moment, when the American people realized just how far their country had fallen and decided it was time for the US to get its act together.
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NEW YORK – August 8, 2008, may someday be remembered as the first day of the post-American era. Or it could be remembered as another “Sputnik moment,” when, as with the Soviet foray into outer space in 1957, the American people realized that the country had lost its footing and decided it was time for the United States to get its act together.