Outside the alternative universe America entered on 20 January 2009, citizens of great countries expect their elected officials to be competent, honest and patriotic. The truth, evident to some early on, now plays out across various crises: Iraq (set to fall into the worst turmoil seen in modern history); Africa and the connected world (we let this team radically adjust our entire health care delivery system...now they cannot contain the spread of Ebola); and Iran where our inspired negotiators simply capitulate to a regime of friminal, immoral thugs. It will be so tough to come back from this evolving set of horros, yet we shall eventually.