It's not the loss of prestige that is most dangerous, it's the loss of legitimacy. A government with no legitimacy can only rule through force or through fear. Once we have a real president again, his (or her - Sarah!) highest priority should be restoring legitimacy and the rule of law. Unconstitutional laws, executive orders, regulations, and policies should be repealed wholesale. ObamaCare must go. Gun laws, including the one on silencers, must go. Redistribution of wealth must go. Waivers for criminals who entered our country illegally must go. It is time for a thorough housecleaning.
Understand, but to my mind prestige and legitimacy go hand-in-hand. You cannot have legitimacy in the face of outright determination to devolve the prestige. And, this is something that Obama has striven for from day one. He is nothing more than a tyrant backed up by all the foul will of those here that seek control over others. They act like he is Messiah; he is Damien.
Due to the 17th Amendment, powers retained by the states since 1787 were immediately transferred to DC. Several hundred congressman, a prez and handful of judges got it all. Today, the law is what Obama says it is, and rules as you say, through fear and force.
Elections are merely courtesy fornications to lend legitimacy to tyranny.