"Military strength that accomplishes nothing politically is useless and our saying that we are the only remaining superpower is just more self delusion."

I disagree.  

It may be an illusion, but it is not a delusion.  Our military "strength" serves the elites quite well.  They've made billions and run the country as they were wont for decades.  Orwell was pretty clear on this point in 1984:  The Party doesn't need Victory.  It needs War.  Permanent War.

Isn't that precisely what Bush-Cheney promise us?

The singular weirdness of Bush-Cheney is that they are so much more overt than previous administrations.  And that is a function of their religiosity.