A story on Pravda's site today with a dateline of a week or so ago reminded me of the Russian President's comments that the actions of the U.S., coupled with the dismal economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad, are leading to a somewhat vacated leadership void that could well be filled in by Russia. After all, they are still a huge regional economy, they have tremendous natural resources (particularly regarding food and energy), and they still possess the ultimate trump card in the form of their massive nuclear arsenal.
The reason they can't serve the unique economic powerhouse role that the U.S. occupies is the same reason that China can't: nobody trusts them. When a country has a recent and well-documented history of repressing citizens of its own and/or other countries, it cannot be trusted to be empowered with even more power and authority than it currently possesses and abuses.
Sorry, Mr. President, but if you would like to earn the world standing of an America or a Great Britain (or even a France or Germany), you'll have to earn it through your actions at home and your dealings with your neighbors. And you'll need to do so over a period of decades, not just months or years.
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