We’re needed.

The Ministry of Defense is concerned. It seems that one of our dearest and most valuable friends is missing.

Missing?

Vanished, Mrs. Peel. Without a trace.

However did that happen?

That is what we’re trying to find out.

When was he last seen? And where?

That’s our first stop, Mrs. Peel.

Well, here’s where our friend was once regularly seen.

Ah, yes, I recall now. This monument stood for a giant of man. General Washington, wasn’t it, Steed?

Yes, Mrs. Peel. Was a valuable soldier in the King’s Army. And was instrumental in the founding of the United States, our dear friend. General Washington eventually became its first President.

Well, the monument is still here.

Ah, but the spirit of Washington is nowhere to be found. Let’s head to the west. I wish to see something there.

Lead on.

Another giant of a man, Mrs. Peel. Abraham Lincoln. He believed in government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

And now?

Things seem to be of the government, by the government, and for the government.

Sounds dreadful.

Let’s head to the east, past the Washington Monument, all the way across the National Mall.

What’s there.

Trouble.

Indeed?

Here is where men gather to take money from American citizens and spend it on themselves and their friends.

So, this is a criminal headquarters?

One would think so. In reality, it’s where the elected representatives of the American people meet and pass laws.

I don’t understand, Steed. The American people choose the men who gather here? And those that gather conspire to take money from those same American people?

Yes, Mrs. Peel, that sums up that aspect rather well. But the leaders of the party in power denegrate the CIA, the military, and all those who are charged with protecting America.

Americans are a curious bunch.

There’s another place we must visit. Here, to the northwest.

This looks familiar, Steed. It’s the President’s mansion.

Yes, Mrs. Peel. It’s the White House. Every American President since John Adams has lived here. Small as he was, Adams was a giant of a man. He took some unpopular steps to protect his country during a crisis with a foreign power. He also appointed a young Chief Justice who took a strong Constitutional view.

Sounds a lot like another man who lived here recently.

Many of the men who lived here, no matter their political persuasion, have many things in common. But all strove to present the United States as a power in the world, someone to be reckoned with. James Monroe, James Polk, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, and many other Presidents sought to expand or rebuild American influence. It has rivaled, and even surpassed, the British Empire at its greatest.

But is that always a good thing?

It certainly came in handy during the second world war.

So, how is the current president building up America’s image?

He’s not. Rather, he’s insulting or abandoning his country’s longtime allies.

How so?

Our own Prime Minister suffered an embarrashing exchange of gifts with the current president. Then Mr. Obama gave the Queen an iPod of his speeches.

No!

Yes. And the current president of the United States, the first country to recognize Israel’s independence, is hanging that country out to dry. Mr. Obama has promised Israel’s capital city to the Palestinians.

Oh, my.

And, as president, he bowed to the Saudi king.

Heads of state do not bow to each other. Any fool knows that.

No, apparently not all fools know.

Well, he’s not taking money out of the American citizens’ pocket, at least.

Isn’t he? The Congress may be the actual authority passing those spending and taxing bills, but they’re following Mr. Obama. He’s the one leading the charge. The Congress has abandoned its responsiblity and is blindly following.

Mr. Obama has taken over General Motors and declared new regulations for the entire American auto industry.

This is shocking, Steed. But from what I understand, all of these people were freely elected to office by the American people.

True, Mrs. Peel, very true. That’s why we won’t be able to help.

Really? I don’t recall turning down a job before.

We will help those who are threatened by outside influence. The Americans actually brought this on themselves.

Well, they are no longer missing. We have found them.

Oh, but we haven’t. Yes, there is an America here, but the America we’ve always known is still missing. But we won’t be able to help.

There’s nothing anyone can do?

It’s up to the American people. Congressional elections are next year. And there is a presidential election in 2012.

Will they last that long?

At the rate these elected leaders are undermining American prestige, abandoning true friends, and overtaxing the American citizen, it’s up in the air.

As should we be. Home, Steed?

Home, Mrs. Peel. And we’ll toast the memory of our missing friend.