When Barack Obama ran for President, he pledged to restore our standing with our allies through his application of “smart power.” Who knew he meant smart-alec power? This is how he congratulated French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni on the birth of their daughter:
“I want to make mention that this is our first meeting since the arrival of the newest Sarkozy, and so I want to congratulate Nicolas and Carla on the birth of Giulia,” Mr. Obama told reporters shortly after his arrival at the G-20, with Mr. Sarkozy at his side. “And I informed Nicolas on the way in that I am confident that Giulia inherited her mother’s looks rather than her father’s, which I think is an excellent thing.”
This is the kind of joke that buddies tell each other over beers, but not usually heads of foreign governments. Did Sarkozy chuckle in his Gallic manner? Er … he was more galled, and he wasn’t the only galled Gaul:
Mr. Sarkozy, who is said to be very conscious about his looks, did not appear greatly amused by the comment, and some observers who attended the meeting said Mr. Obama’s remark fell flat. …
“The U.S. President’s picnic on the ‘physical’ of his French counterpart is only the latest episode of reports [which are] rather cool at best, at worst frankly tense,” said L’Observateur newspaper, which called the two leaders “the best enemies.”
Another French publication said Mr. Obama had chosen to complimentMr. Sarkozy “in a way unique to say the least, before the cameras around the world.”
The French celebrity website Staragora said Mr. Obama’s comment was “risky” and “not very cool, for the French president [was] humiliated in public.”
“Barack Obama has openly and publicly ridiculed the physical [appearance of] Nicolas Sarkozy,” Staragora said, adding that Mr. Obama’s comments were delivered “without pity.”
So much for “smart power.” Hey, if we wanted to insult the French, we could have done that with a Republican.
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