But President Obama thought he was on friendly ground on the occasion of his host's new child (tip to Instapundit):
“I want to make mention that this is our first meeting since the arrival of the newest Sarkozy, and so I want to congratulate Nicolas and Carla on the birth of Giulia,” Mr. Obama told reporters shortly after his arrival at the G-20, with Mr. Sarkozy at his side. “And I informed Nicolas on the way in that I am confident that Giulia inherited her mother’s looks rather than her father’s, which I think is an excellent thing.” ...
But Mr. Obama’s remarks, intended as a compliment for the French president’s glamorous wife, ended up in the eyes of some Frenchmen as tagging their leader as an ugly man. France took notice.
“The U.S. President’s picnic on the ‘physical’ of his French counterpart is only the latest episode of reports [which are] rather cool at best, at worst frankly tense,” said L’Observateur newspaper, which called the two leaders “the best enemies.”
Good grief.
When President Obama manages to send the French into sputtering rage about an off-hand comment intended as a friendly jab, perhaps we can conclude that it isn't us--it's them.
Somebody in State Department protocol might want to brief the White House on how touchy the French are.
