THE RADIO GASBAGS HAVE OFTEN CLAIMED THAT...

Pres. Obama has made the U.S. a laughing stock of the entire world and I've often wondered how someone like Billy Cunningham or Mark Levin possibly know that to be true. What is true is the GOP's debt  ceiling shenanigans have alienated the world and lowered respect for America:

World Reacts to Debt Ceiling Debacle: "Irresponsible," "Worst Kind of Absurd Theatrics"
Saturday 30 July 2011
by: Ken Sofer, ThinkProgress | Op-Ed

Conservative German Die Welt: "[T]here are few signs of self-doubt or self-awareness in the U.S. … [The Tea Party movement] sees the other side as their enemy. Negotiations with the Democrats, whether it's about appointing a judge or the insolvency of the United States, are only successful if the enemy is defeated. Compromise, they feel, is a sign of weakness and cowardice."

The German mass-circulation Bild: "What America is currently exhibiting is the worst kind of absurd theatrics and the whole world is being held hostage… Most importantly, the Republicans have turned a dispute over a technicality into a religious war, which no longer has any relation to a reasonable dispute between the elected government and the opposition."

French newspaper Le Monde:"The American politicians supposed to lead the most powerful nation in the world are becoming a laughing stock."

Chinese state-owned newspaper Xinhua: "Given the United States' status as the world's largest economy and the issuer of the dominant international reserve currency, such political brinksmanship in Washington is dangerously irresponsible."