French Fall in Love with Obama

The French, who have held back their love from George Bush, have fallen truly, madly, deeply for Obama. The usually anti-American left wing website Rue89 led with, “This time the world says thank you to America.” The establishment paper Le Monde breathlessly pronounced, "What intelligence, what mastery, what sang-froid..." Former socialist arts minister Jack Lang said, "The America that we love is back. This election will have the effect of an electric shock and will bring about a spiritual revolution." But the London Times’s man in Paris advises caution. “The euphoria, which is partly driven by the imminent farewell to George W Bush, will soon subside. Some commentators are trying to calm the near hysteria, reminding France that Obama is still an American, not a Frenchman, and that there will be inevitable disappointment. But rekindled love affair with les Etats Unis is enjoyable while it lasts,” he writes.