Viva La France

I knew my seemingly insane refusal to write France off could pay off. As I've written many times, my beef has been with the French government and press/Paris elite (and I used the term "cheese eating surrender monkeys freely). I had hope that we had friends, even in France. And I wanted France as an ally in defense of the West. I've defended the honor of the French military as a professional force with global reach.

Austin Bay sees hope for the new French government, especially the Socialist foreign minister:

Nicholas Sarkozy strikes again — and again. Yesterday Saint Nicholas (”it’s Christmas for liberty”) appointed Bernard Kouchner as Foreign Minister. Touche’. Too-effin-che’. Magnifique. Kouchner supported the toppling of Saddam. Like Norm Geras and Christopher Hitchens, Kouchner’s a man of the Left who actually believes in liberty. Grind your teeth in your own buttock, M. Chirac.

And Bay implies that we might see real French support in the fall regarding Iraq. Could the French really step up there with a division?

Even if we don't see such support--and I confess I don't hope for that much help--we can improve our track record of foreign support in defiance of those who claim we have alienated the world. Call us 12 wins, 5 ties, and 3 losses right now in the top 20 (excluding us) GDP nations since George W. Bush took office.

I'm so giddy with the French elections that I may even have to return to the tiredly stupid claim of our Left that we are "distracted" from the war on al Qaeda by the war in Iraq.