The arrival of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has Washington society in a buzz. Jennifer Harper reports:
The Frenchman rumored to actually like America, Elvis Presley and hot dogs will be in town for 48 hours worth of cordial tete-a-tetes with the White House and Congress. ...Monsieur President is staying at the Willard Intercontinental, where the lobby Tuesday night was crowded with security staffers and other members of l'entourage de Sarkozy. The presidential presence was the topic of chatter the hotel's Round Robin Bar, where former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson stopped by following a state dinner at the White House. Mr. Simpson said he was touched by Mr. Sarkozy's dinner remarks, evoking the American GIs who fought to liberate France from Hitler's occupation."He's so very attractive, so very charismatic. And he really likes the United States and the American people. I am counting on him to fix the relationship between France and the U.S., and I am very confident he will do just that," said Anais de Viel Castel, associate publisher of Washington Life magazine, which chronicles the feasts and fetes of local socialites.
--Robert Stacy McCain, assistant national editor, The Washington Times
UPDATE 7:25 p.m.:
White House correspondent Jon Ward is covering Sarkozy fever, including today's press conference.
It appears the Sarkozy fever epidemic has spread to West Virginia, where Don Surber writes:
Wow. I just finished reading Nicolas Sarkozy's speech to Congress.-- RSMHe waved the American flag in a way that would embarrass George M. Cohan. ...
Sarkozy singlehandedly disproved the foolish notion by the Democratic Party that Bush made the world hate us.
Comments (2)
Actually the world hate the US more than anybody else (just have a look at some worldopinion.com surveys), and Bush & Cheney can be thanked for a fair share. That Sarkozy doesn't want to embarass his host is one thing, that he actually meant it is another.
Posted by nobody | November 7, 2007 11:20 PM
Whether he means it or not is not for us to decide, nor is it what really matters.
Bush, Cheney & co. and their mistakes aside, the attitude of French Presidents from DeGaulle to Chirac with regard to the Franco-American relationship has been ridiculous. It is fashionable to demonize the United States in France while wearing Nike sneakers, listening to an Ipod, and worshiping icons of American culture, and French politicians have played this card to the bone. Kudos to Sarkozy for attempting to mend the relationship, for these two nations have a long and close historical relationship, despite disagreements over the impotent and disastrous policies of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney's administration.
The French owe the Americans a debt not only for playing the key role in the liberation of their homeland, but for financing the reconstruction of said homeland after the war. While he is at it, Sarkozy may want to pay tribute to Britain and Russia.
Posted by Derek | November 8, 2007 4:01 PM