More in the line of this reasoning about "the decline and fall of empire" is this notion that there is an insane, drunken Caligula at the helm of power. The Online Journal highlights this article "Dry Drunk which explains W.'s behavior in Alcoholics Anonymous terms. Of course, if there's an insane, drunken Caligula at the helm of power, we can expect a long time to pass before the fall of the present-day Rome -- after all, Caligula ruled Rome from 37 to 41 CE, and the Roman Empire broke up for good starting in 395...