August 13, 2007

France the Friend? Bush, Sarkozy Kick Back Over Burgers and Beans

If it is true that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then President Bush showed true affection toward the recently elected French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, this weekend. The two world leaders enjoyed an informal gathering at the Bush family compound in Maine in what President Bush described as, “The best way we can do things – best way we send a good signal to President Sarkozy is invite here at the family house.”

The highlights of the meeting, as emphasized by the administration and hungrily picked up by domestic and foreign media included the all-American menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and baked beans (those were optional according to the BBC). Sarkozy, whose family missed out on interacting with the Bush daughters, brothers, sister and Laura, wore jeans. Jeans! He wore a black suit jacket with it, which was probably his last stand of dignity before selling out. (He’s French, it was a matter of time).

To ensure the smoothness of this strategic meeting, Vice President Cheney’s offering to teach Sarkozy how to hunt quails was firmly denied, although it has not been confirmed if the main reason was Cheney’s potential peppering of the French leader with buckshot or the risk that comes with expecting a Frenchman to actually use a firearm.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow announced that “We are at the dawn of a new era of relations with the French." I think that can be best illustrated by an exchange that took place between Bush and a reporter before Sarkozy’s arrival:

“Do you think he’s bringing cheese?”

“I think he’s bringing goodwill.”

Wow.

The French president had to travel only 50 miles from his vacation spot in New Hampshire and President Bush said he may want to vacation in France. It may not seem like such a good idea for popularity polls, but keep in mind that if, like Bush, you spend over a quarter of your life on vacation, you may as well move to France.

All this may seem frivolous and lacking in substance, but this time it may not be the media’s skewed priority system. No serious policy considerations came from the meeting, and multiple observers agreed that the meeting was more of a networking tea party dandified with blueberry pie than a political caucus. This may not be a bad thing, however.

Bush never hid his distaste for the former French president Jacques Chirac, thus the friendly, family-oriented reception. It was a gesture meant to draw a sharp contrast between the Bush administration’s approach to the French government and the French people – indicating that it is not the country, but rather the leadership that decides the American attitude.

For his part, Sarkozy said that he is proud to be known as “Sarkozy the American,” which means little to Americans but will likely bite him in the behind when the U.S. makes another global-scale mistake and his ratings plummet because of this explicit allegiance. To be fair, in his short time as president, Sarkozy has already demonstrated that he is not afraid of acting independently and against other powerful players – when he sold Libya French arms and a nuclear power station, without mentioning it to the other EU states.

While President Bush made the right choice by acknowledging Sarkozy as a leader independent of his predecessors, this administration cannot forget that unless diplomacy and the setting of a  firm foreign policy do not take priority right away, the wining-and-dining strategy may lead to a bitter end.