America as "Master of the Universe"? -- Never Was ... and Never Will Be

Obama is right, Clinton wrong, on foreign policy (Armando) from Daily Kos  
“The media likes to talk about foreign policy "achievements" the way they talk about legislatures "doing something." They believe the mere act of having "done something" is an accomplishment in itself and that governments have to "do something" to have effective foreign policies. This is the essential problem of foreign policy "experts." ...  They see NOT "doing something" as failure in and of itself. This is the type of thinking that leads to "doing stupid shit," as the president was reported as saying."
Given the difficulty the US has in striking the right balance here at home [in places like Ferguson, MO], how can we play the role of "Masters of the Universe" in places as complex as Iraq and Syria?  Neo-cons and their liberal internationalist allies will never comprehend this.