American Decline a Mirage in World That's Rising

â??Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned,â? said President Barack Obama in his 2012 State of the Union address, â??doesnâ??t know what theyâ??re talking about.â? It was a â??rah-rah America!â? applause line for a president who needed to get the assembled Republicans out of their seats a few times over the course of the evening.