2014-04 Paris

Two days ago all the English-speaking channels on the apartment TV expired mysteriously, a particularly cruel occurrence as it coincided with the secession of sunshine and the onset of cold drizzle.

But being forced to watch local programming has certainly improved my French.

I was particularly absorbed by an film featuring the ubiquitous aircraft in danger plot where lots of people died (including the cockpit crew)…someone’s Air Force thought about shooting the plane down but decided not to…a flight attendant was groped by sinister character (I thought at first he was trying to highjack the plane but apparently was interested only in touchy-feely)…and the plane, a 747, was landed perfectly by a housewife from Cleveland who was met on the jet way by her daughter who announced she had been accepted at the Sorbonne, or perhaps it was Mt. Holyoke. I like happy endings.

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Now deposed Ukraine President Yanukovych joins Mr. Snowden as a guest of Mr. Putin. Interesting company. And at the moment things are heating up and world leaders are exchanging threats and warnings. Another red line perhaps?

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Last BLOG I commented on the singular nature of Cartesian logic applied by the French (“I am Mickey!”), but it is established fact that the French are masters of multitasking, at least when they want to be. Reminds me of the Month Python dirge

I like traffic lights

I like traffic lights

I like traffic lights

But only when they’re green

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The Barack & Francois show, in full swing as I left home shores 2 weeks ago, was a virtual love fest, calling each other by first names and joking together as they walked. A witticism making the rounds here in France is that “at least now each has one friend on the planet.”

But even as Hollande traverses France trumpeting “Yes We Can” in English (a phrase not heard inside American shores since it resounded so powerfully over 4 years ago yet lost much of its oomph when reality set in), the two world leaders share both philosophy and reality.

Both have faced the stark reality that kvetching from the outside is infinitely more challenging than leading from the inside. In America, certain media (i.e. Fox) have taken to playing side-by-side clips of Senator Obama then and President Obama now.

The contrast is stunning, with the young Senator crucifying the sitting president for trifling with the Constitution in a way that appears incredibly tepid in comparison to his current “pen and phone” line of attack. In 2008 “I am a constitutional scholar and I respect the Constitution and I will not trample it as it is now being defiled.” Oh well, times change.

And in France, the man elected on a hardline Socialist ticket that (among other things) vowed a 100% income tax on those making over $1 million Euros, is causing left-wing apoplexy by cozying up to the business community and proposing measures to make France “more business-friendly.” I suspect the 77% drop in foreign investment last year has helped to focus the Socialist mind.

It seems that “yes we can” has morphed into “gee it seems a bit more complicated than I imagined.”

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Next post will be from the New World...bientot