America = Corleone?

Check out this bizarre article from a foreign-policy analyst who offers the sons of the Corleone family from The Godfather as models representing different strategic options for the United States. Once you get past the unironic equation of the U.S. with a Mafia family, you'll notice that he overlooks Fredo. That's interesting, since we know that Fredo resents being overlooked, passed over. He insists that he has a right to have a part in running things, insists against all evidence that he's smart, and tries to sell out Michael because he resents his father passing him over in Michael's favor. Michael, Sonny and Tom Hagen may be made to represent different modes of strategic thinking available to future presidents, but Fredo, with his sense of entitlement and exaggerated estimate of his faculties, embodies an American attitude that is sure to complicate anyone else's calculations.