In an article Gideon Rachman wrote for the Financial Times, he said that the world is having to adjust to the retreat of the US on the world stage. And it is quite true, and for the most part he was also right on the reasons why. He said it was due to the bad economy, and focusing on domestic matters because of that. He also said that we as a people were tired of the wars that we have been waging. And to cap it off, he said that due to our shale oil reserves we no longer need to be as involved as we used to be.
The one thing he missed though was that the US has been crapped on for the choices it makes, whether rightly or wrongly this has caused a feeling of unappreciation. With that comes a sense that we should let the world be and let it sort itself out. While this may be an aspect of a petulant child, it is an important factor to consider. Why should a country deal with a world that does not appreiciate it? Some would say we have the responsibility, but then we get slammed for thinking that. It is pointless.
During the Cold War the world saw a need for the US to do what we do, but now all it does is complain (well, except for Israel and the UK). Now that the Cold War is over and there is no major threat from an aggressive second super power, the world wants to go its own way, as it should. But because of that, the world needs to take care of its own problems, and let us deal with our problems without their bellyaching.