Who's the President of France anyway? Some conservative bloggers are convinced that President Obama doesn't know that Nicolas Sarkozy is the President of France. Who's in this picture? President Jacques Chirac, right, former First Lady Bernadette Chirac, center, and current French President Sarkozy. (JACQUES BRINON/AP)From Christian Science Monitor:
Want to know how quickly rumors get spread on the Internet? Here’s a prime example.
The right side of the web is apoplectic this morning claiming that President Obama doesn’t know who the French president is.
They point to an article in the French newspaper Le Figaro reporting that President Obama last week wrote a letter to former French President Jacques Chirac.
“I am certain that we will be able to work together, in the coming four years, in a spirit of peace and friendship to build a safer world,” Obama is purported to have written.
Read more ....
My Comment: Interesting take on the Christian Science Monitor's remarks on the reaction to President Obama sending a letter to former President Chirac. CSM does not link to any website that claims that President Obama does not know who the Presdient of France is .... they just state that soneone did .... and I am sure that if one looks hard enough one will find someone who would be making that claim. But from what I read .... most if not all did not make that claim.
What is the main issue .... an issue that CSM avoids .... is that on the day that the letter was sent .... March 20 (the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq) .... Presdient Obama was making a clear reference to Mr. Chirac's antiwar stance on Iraq. For a Commander in Chief .... with soldiers in the field .... to wrap himself with a critic of the war .... the disconnect with his soldiers is going to be felt deeply.
This is what the critics (myself included) are complaining about. The damage to how we are perceived by our allies .... the present President of France being one of them .... is going to be felt on multiple levels. President Obama's intentions may have been considerate and kind .... but its impact is going to be destructive to the moral of a lot of our soldiers and defeinitely to our allies.
