US unwilling to be bogged down by Syria crisis, says analyst | Connect Asia

The Republican contender Mitt Romney has accused Barack Obama of "demonising business success", while Mr Romney himself is under pressure to release his tax returns.

Obama campaign ads have suggested Mr Romney may have paid no tax at all in some years.

That's the domestic picture, but what of America's standing in the world?

Both candidates for the White House insist their goal is to ensure the US remains number one, but one prominent columnist EJ Dionne has put forward the argument that "American decline is the spectre haunting our politics."

Presenter: Richard Ewart

Speaker: Tom Switzer, US Studies Centre