Hey, the Russian went to space first anyway, it's not like americans were at the bleeding edge.
So true. The americans needed to take initiative so they developed a plan to land on the moon, and then JFK told everybody that this was the most important step in the universe so far and the first one to accomplish it would rule the world. And it became true. But not because america landed on the moon first, but because russia was bleeding money faster than the us and had to give up the race first.
The next time someone will be on the bleeding edge is when someone (china is my guess) will announce that they plan a manned mars mission and from that point in time (or when it's actually successfully executed) they will be the new rulers of the world, a title that usa have taken on itself for the last hundred years or so, give or take.
Humans live to explore, the ones that explores the furthest are the current numbero uno. Always has been, always will be.