“They say this other guy is unpatriotic, or this guy likes French people. That’s what they said about Kerry (…) They try to make it out like Democrats aren’t tough enough, aren’t macho enough. It’s the same strategy.” -Senator Barack Obama, August 18, 2008. Sources: IHT – FOXNews – ABC News
En français par Chamizam (LePost.fr)
Senator Obama is stating it exactly as the far right is selling it. I find no fault with his honesty. I do fault the far right for consistent patterns of ignorance!
Ever listen to the sound of the people clapping for John McCain? They sound just like the people who clapped for George BUsh. Go figure….
I added this as a quote for the rotating banner in the other sections of the site. This quote is worth it’s weight in gold.
This is priceless, and perhaps, the sign that tides are turning. French bashing is not what it used to be though we can expect some nasty small skirmishes, like the one you could find on SuperFrenchie. Nothing of consequence per se, but it reveal that anti-french sentiment is only seriouly weakened and not on the spotlight anymore, but we should still be on guard.
French bashing will be around as long as France exists. Like it or not, the French are the worldwide archetype of cowardice.
Cowardice is using the web to vent one’s hatred under the cover of anonymity.
To Electraviper. You are the worldwide archetype of the ignorant – American. Do you know the term ” the ugly American”, It fits you well. I am embarrased to be American.
Obama did the right thing by focusing on Republican strategy and their heavy responsibility in Official French Bashing. With that simple comment, he encapsulates the entire Freedom Fry episode.
Concise – direct and true.
BTW – I just got back from another swing through OH, KY, WV, PA and NY, even went to the GOP office in Washington PA to get tickets to a McCain event, unfortunately I couldn’t stay until next saturday for the event.
I would have loved to ask Senator McCain a number of questions on French Bashing and Anti-French attitudes in his party. Might still mail them in.
What would you ask John McCain ?
PS: Do you know the GOP doesn’t even live up to the rules of the Waffle House? That fine restaurant chain has on its wall a number of rules, including one that says no client or associate will be discriminated based on national origin…
Here’s an article that you may find interesting. Although it doesn’t mention french-bashing, it certainly sheds a light on the use of smear in politics:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/weekinreview/17vitello.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Anti-French John McCain quotes:
“They remind me of an aging movie actress in the 1940s who is still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn’t have the face for it.”
“Perhaps Churchill and Roosevelt made a very serious mistake when they decided to give France a veto in the Security Council when the United Nations was organized.”
“We now have a pro-American president in France, which shows if you live long enough, anything can happen in this world.”
Sources : Perspectives – McCain.com
For as long as I can remember, the Republican Party has had their whipping boys that they use to shift responsibility for their foibles and blunders. This year it is illegal immigration, which, ironically, a lot of businesses that are owned by Republicans use for cheap labor. France is another, because they have fomented Franco-hatred ever since France refused to play along with George W. Bush’s war on Iraq. It’s cheap, it’s easy and it makes them look like they are the good guys, at least to their target audience.
That in mind, John McCain is just one of a long line of many Republicans who deal ignorance, xenophobia, blame-shifting and war-mongering as so-called American values.
From Slate.com: The French Are Coming!: Romney was widely mocked last fall when he warned that France posed a clear and present danger to the American way of life. But after watching French President Nicolas Sarkozy embrace Barack Obama in Paris last week, conservatives may finally warm to Mitt’s “First, Not France” slogan after all. Romney has impeccable credentials as a Francophobe; Sarkozy would never dream of saying of him, “If he is chosen, then France will be delighted.” In a few short hours in Paris, Obama claimed the president as a convert. Romney spent two whole years in France and converted no one whatsoever.
Just a reminder – DemocracyArsenal.org: “John McCain engaged in the anti-French bashing of the far right because they opposed the invasion of the war. “The Lord said the poor will always be with us, and the French will be with us, too,” said McCain, a member of the Armed Services Committee. “This is part of a continuing French practice of throwing sand in the gears of the Atlantic alliance. But now they’re playing a dangerous game, and coming close to rendering themselves irrelevant.” A few days later he even said that, “Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) likened France to an aging ’40s starlet “still trying to dine out on her looks but doesn’t have the face for it.” [NY Times, 2/14/03. NY Daily News, 2/17/03]”
[…] Reuters – Miquelon.org 0 […]
I am glad to see a US politician finally calling people out on that one.