Hot Damn, Another Good Thompson Column

If he's following Reagan's model as regards a late announcement, he also seems to be following his model by establishing a written record of his thoughts and principles in well-crafted but accessible language.

This one's about Sarkozy.

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy to the presidency of France has been a serious blow to those who claim that America has earned the undying hatred of Europeans. Oh, to be sure, the French media hates us, but there are a lot of people who say ours does too. Regardless, Sarkozy’s victory has sent shock waves through the world’s media centers.

A French president who openly admires America is an embarrassment to those who view us as the country bumpkin cousins of the sophisticated Europeans. American pundits and politicians who say we should change our foreign policies to win the European popularity contest ought to be feeling a little embarrassed too.

From the beginning, Sarkozy pledged to help heal the ill feelings that have existed between our two countries — especially over Iraq. He outraged French Socialists and journalists by coming to America during his campaign to meet with our president. He has praised America’s dynamism, freedoms and prosperity, and he promises to work for reforms that will make France more like the U.S.

Sarkozy’s victory over anti-American political forces was not just decisive; it was far more of a mandate than our own current congress claims. In his first post-election speech, he went out of his way to say, “I want to call out to our American friends to tell them that they can count on our friendship.”

Although it seems to me he's running -- he's delaying based on his own calculations of timing and stagecraft -- it really will be very bad for the Republican party should he ultimately not run. And that remains a possibility of course.

He's sucking an awful lot of oxygen out of the room, and preventing many Republicans from giving more serious thought to supporting other serious, strong-but-flawed candidates, like Giuliani, Romney, McCain, and of course, Ron "The Gold Standard" Paul.

posted by Ace at 02:43 PM

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