I actually don't think it's quite that simple either. In total war, that might be right, but I think any opposing non-democratic power only needs to maintain a

I actually don't think it's quite that simple either. In total war, that might be right, but I think any opposing non-democratic power only needs to maintain a force/budget large enough to cause enough damage that will lead to war fatigue within the democratic power. Our war tech may be far superior, but I highly doubt it's superior enough for a snap victory as seen against Iraq. China has demonstrated real anti-satellite capability, as well as significant theoretical anti-ship capability (DF-21), both of which would eliminate a large portion of the US's edge (which has not demonstrated how much of an edge it has without those technologies). Even after the trudging warfare is done with, supposing the US did win decisively (which I'm a bit skeptical of), post-war financial and political costs would be quite significant as well.