Assume you are a senior political aide in the Obama White House. This morning, while eating a bowl of Cheerios, you read the front page of the Washington Post, where you found an above-the-fold story by Joel Achenbach. The story, titled “Is debt downgrade an alarm bell for a great nation in decline?” quotes Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served Jimmy Carter, who was jettisoned from office after his first term in large part because of the sense his policies were ushering in a period of American decline.

According to Brzezinski, “We have been for decades now the number one global economic power. But an increasing question mark is whether we are going to remain one.”

After you spit out your spoonful of Cheerios, you come across this analysis by Achenbach:

This is a low moment. America is in a funk that’s being felt around the world. “Downgrade” is the verb of the week. Our debt is now second-rate if you believe the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. The country is mired in a seemingly endless financial crisis. It has an economy that doesn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. The two major political parties seem to inhabit different, non-intersecting dimensions of reality. The whole world is watching, and it is rather appalled.

And at this point you, as a senior political aide to Obama, crawl back into bed. Because when journalists take to the front page of the Washington Post to analyze whether or not we are seeing “the American empire in twilight,” you can bet things are–politically speaking–very bad and about to get even worse.