Obama's Letter To Jacques Chirac Has Tongues Wagging

[SurferGirl]

http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspot.com/2009/03/obam-as-letter-to-jacques-chirac-has.html
Monday, March 23, 2009
Obama's Letter To Jacques Chirac Has Tongues Wagging

I am sure at some point a phone call will be made to France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy, by Barack Obama, explaining why Obama sent a letter to the former president of France, Jacques Chirac, telling him "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."

Gateway Pundit brings us the details of how the French Press is having a field day with this.



No Pasaran has more on the bizarre letter to Chirac.

French newspaper Le Figaro is horrified at the faux pas. And, current French President Sarkozy was appparently upset with the letter.
Europumas and Free Republic has the latest:


Now Obama has insulted French President Sarkozy!
Now Obama has insulted French President Sarkozy!

Oh no! Obama sent a letter to Chirac, saying he looks forward to working with him the next four years. Le Figaro, French newspaper is horrified at the faux pas. Doesn't Obama ever consult his staff before acting? Sarkozy is the President there! It's like Sarko writing to George Bush and saying he looks forward to working with him. Chirac is the FORMER president.


When Obama managed to offend Gordon Brown, a phone immediately went out, with a press release from the White House, explaining the two had spoken, so I wonder when the next press release will be issued informing us that Obama has spoken to Sarkozy and everything is just fine and dandy.

Cute French cartoon about this by Herve Baudry, via The Atlanticist.


you will have to look at the link to see the cartoon

[jeanea33]

Glad to see everyone in his administration helping him. I assume he is dicussing his moves with someone in the white house. Glad they all have their I's dotted and T's crossed.*sarcasm *

[justice250]

do we call this an Obama-ism? i no longer want to hear Bush bashing ever again.

[speedygirl]

I'm happy to hear legitimate bashing of any politician. I say, if the shoe fits...
BUT Obama was responding back to a letter that Chirac apparently wrote to him.

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/23/obama-writes-letter-to-chirac-blogosphere-goes-crazy/


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.

Wrong guy

This has electrified the Internet. Why would President Obama initiate correspondence with Mr. Chirac instead of President Nicolas Sarkozy?

One excited blogger writes, “Doesn’t Obama ever consult his staff before acting? Sarkozy is the President there! It’s like Sarko writing to George Bush and saying he looks forward to working with him. Chirac is the FORMER president.”

That’s a good heads up. But let’s dig a little deeper.

French-speaking pal

Our handy colleague, Laurent Belsie, who writes the New Economy blog here at the Monitor, speaks French. (We don’t hold that against him.)

With his help we found out that another French newspaper, the New Observer, explained that Obama was merely replying to a Chirac letter who was writing him as the head of his foundation — the Jacques Chirac Foundation for sustainable development and cultural dialogue.

The foundation is promoting access to water and medicines in west Africa, combating deforestation in the Congo Basin, and trying to save dying languages in Polynesia, according to a spokesman who helped set up the foundation.Teleprompter jokes

Of course it is much more fun to write things like “Maybe President Obama’s correspondence office needs a teleprompter too!” But in fact, there doesn’t seem to be a controversy here.

Le Figaro did opine in its article that “in using the word ‘peace,’ Obama was offering an implicit homage to the former French president who had opposed the Iraq war.”

But other French news organizations confirmed with Chirac’s entourage that they believed the reference was not in regards to the Iraq war but to Chirac’s current work as head of the foundation.

Whatever. In any case, there is no evidence that the language has upset President Sarkozy or anyone else in France.

—–

[janelle]

I wonder who leaked it? Wasn't it a private letter? Did Chirac do it?

[speedygirl]

Who knows. Chirac may have shown it to someone and whomever leaked it was obviously trying to stir the pot and as a result looks like a moron since it was misinterpreted and has since been retracted. The French have notoriously been critical of the United States.