I wouldn't surprise me if Rather directed the details of that forgery yet at a minimum he failed journalism 101 by not checking his source.
Whatever the world thinks of America they still buy our debt. They'll never collect the principle unless world currencies drastically change in relative values. Revelation talks about a day when a man will work all day just for the food that he needs to sustain his life.
I don't know how long but it might look something like that when it comes crashing down.How long can we continue to do this? Who knows...
Gene
ps edit: Also, no matter what the world thinks of America, we comprise 40% of the world's economy. If you want to say, 'to hell with America' you might consider that actually means 'to hell with the world.' When America crashes the world crashes. World leaders don't have the intellectual ability to handle America crashing and not having their own economies suffer drastically. They're not that smart.