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[Kapsama]

and it seems like that role is tailored for Mr. Sarkozy. What a clown.

Sarkozy snipes at 'dim' Spanish PM and 'weak' Barack Obama

The US President is weak, the Spanish leader is dim, the German Chancellor is clinging on to France’s coat-tails and the head of the European Commission is irrelevant.

That, at any rate, is the world according to President Sarkozy, who has spent the week airing his unvarnished opinions of Barack Obama and an array of international politicians — abruptly ending France’s honeymoon with the US and needling Washington on several strategic issues.

In the latest in a stream of accounts from the Élysée Palace, Mr Sarkozy was quoted yesterday as telling an all-party group of MPs that Mr Obama was inexperienced and indecisive. “Obama has a subtle mind, very clever and very charismatic,” the French President said. “But he was elected two months ago and had never run a ministry. There are a certain number of things on which he has no position. And he is not always up to standard on decision-making and efficiency.”

The US President had underperformed on climate change when they met, Mr Sarkozy said, according to an account of the MP’s session in the newspaper Libération. “I told him, ‘I don’t think that you have quite understood what we are doing on carbon dioxide’.”
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Mr Sarkozy was apparently irked by media reports that Mr Obama had saved the day in London by persuading President Hu of China to reach a compromise with France over tax havens. Mr Sarkozy’s version is that he shamed Mr Obama into action, telling him: “You were elected to build a new world. Tax havens are the embodiment of the old world.”

Mr Sarkozy was also reported yesterday to have cracked a dubious joke about Europe’s “Obamamania”. According to L’Express news magazine, he mentioned Mr Obama’s planned visit to Normandy for the D-day anniversary in June, saying: “I am going to ask him to walk on the Channel, and he’ll do it.”

This jaundiced view of Mr Obama may have been prompted by the US President’s heartfelt welcome at the G20, Nato and EU summits. “The President is annoyed by what he sees as the naivety and the herd mentality of the media,” wrote Claude Askolovitch, a commentator close to the Élysée Palace.

The end of the short-lived Franco-American honeymoon also reflects a decision to swing France back towards its traditional role as counterbalance to US power, a shift that began with tension over the London economic summit. In the Élysée account Mr Sarkozy played the pivotal role as upholder of principle in the face of ineffectual US leadership. He had telephoned Gordon Brown on the eve of the summit and threatened not to turn up at all if the leaders refused his demand to name and shame tax havens, according to the leaks.

Although Mr Sarkozy has taken France back into full membership of the Nato alliance, over the past week he has picked various quarrels with Washington, demanding, for instance, a separate headquarters for a new European defence force — an idea opposed by Britain and the US. He has criticised Mr Obama for calling for Turkish membership of the EU.

Mr Sarkozy also turned his guns on his fellow Europeans. He told the assembled MPs that Spain’s Socialist Government had decided to stop advertising on state television — a year after he did the same for France. “You know who they cited as the example?” Mr Sarkozy asked.

When a Socialist MP interjected: “You can say a lot of things about [José Luis Rodriguez] Zapatero . . .” Mr Sarkozy retorted: “Perhaps he’s not very clever — but I know people who were very clever and who did not make the second round of the presidential election.” That was a reference to Lionel Jospin, the former French Socialist leader who was knocked out by Jean-Marie Le Pen in the 2002 race.

Mr Sarkozy said that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, had come round to his side on the economy at the G20 summit only when she realised that the German economy was in trouble. She “did not have any other choice but to rally to my position”, he said. José Manuel Barroso, the Portuguese President of the Commission, was described as “totally absent” from the G20 discussions.

He did, however, go on to extol the virtues of his favourite fellow leader. “The important thing in democracy is to be re-elected. Look at Berlusconi. He has been re-elected three times,” Mr Sarkozy said.

He also seems to have adopted Mr Berlusconi’s idea of tact. The Italian Prime Minister, who referred to Mr Obama as “suntanned”, used the same adjective while touring a makeshift school in L’Aquila yesterday. He said to a black priest: “My compliments, you are very suntanned,” and told a black boy: “I wish I had as much time to lie in the sun as you do.”

 

[speculawyer]

Don't count out Italy's Berlasconi. He is quite obnoxious.

And then there is Iran's nut-job . . . but hopefully he'll be voted out of office this year.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

A Frenchman looking down his nose at an American? Why, I never!

 

[itsinmyveins]

Don't count out Italy's Berlasconi. He is quite obnoxious.

Dude, I'd say he can be very obnoxious.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

he sounds downright bigoted, dumb piece of shit. anyways, its not like france contributes anything of worth anymore.

 

[Macam]

An American looking down his nose at a Frenchman? Why, I never!

I'm so clever.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

France deserves all the ridicule it receives. From top to bottom it's peppered with blind pride and idiocy. I think it has to have something to do with the language though, because those French Canadians aren't much better! :lol

 

[gutter_trash]

I don't understand what Carla Bruni sees in Sarko

 

[Suburban Cowboy]

Bush was never obnoxious.

 

[Q-bert]

I don't understand what Carla Bruni sees in Sarko

He's the leader of the free world.

What more do you need?

 

[tokkun]

I don't see what is so bad about his comments about Obama. He mentioned some of his strengths and some of his perceived weaknesses. What exactly is the problem? Anyone who doesn't say Obama is absolutely perfect is a dick?

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

I don't see what is so bad about his comments about Obama. He mentioned some of his strengths and some of his perceived weaknesses. What exactly is the problem? Anyone who doesn't say Obama is absolutely perfect is a dick?

perhaps the problem is that he sounds downright jelaous? and making up stuff? and these comments make him look like a damn phony?

 

[Dan]

I don't see what is so bad about his comments about Obama. He mentioned some of his strengths and some of his perceived weaknesses. What exactly is the problem? Anyone who doesn't say Obama is absolutely perfect is a dick?

I don't know, this is pretty dickish:

Mr Sarkozy was apparently irked by media reports that Mr Obama had saved the day in London by persuading President Hu of China to reach a compromise with France over tax havens. Mr Sarkozy’s version is that he shamed Mr Obama into action, telling him: “You were elected to build a new world. Tax havens are the embodiment of the old world.”

Obama goes out of his way to negotiate a little compromise and Sarkozy tries to take credit and and make Obama look reluctant to do it. Next time Sarkozy should do it himself.

 

[pollo]

wrong thread.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

wrong thread.

but pollo is delicious, it's never a wrong time for some pollo.

 

[AmishNazi]

Bush was never obnoxious.

Discussing a war where citizens were dying with a goofy grin on your face is obnoxious.

 

[SouthernDragon]

“The President is annoyed by what he sees as the naivety and the herd mentality of the media,” wrote Claude Askolovitch, a commentator close to the Élysée Palace.

Isn't this the president who ditched his old wife and got a supermodel because of his tanking popularity?

 

[6.8]

France deserves all the ridicule it receives. From top to bottom it's peppered with blind pride and idiocy. I think it has to have something to do with the language though, because those French Canadians aren't much better! :lol

So by your logic english canadians arent any better. Harper :lol

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

Man, Sarkozy & Berlusconi are so embarrassing for the countries they represent.

 

[Sickboy007]

Don't count out Italy's Berlasconi. He is quite obnoxious.

He did, however, go on to extol the virtues of his favourite fellow leader. “The important thing in democracy is to be re-elected. Look at Berlusconi. He has been re-elected three times,” Mr Sarkozy said.

He also seems to have adopted Mr Berlusconi’s idea of tact. The Italian Prime Minister, who referred to Mr Obama as “suntanned”, used the same adjective while touring a makeshift school in L’Aquila yesterday. He said to a black priest: “My compliments, you are very suntanned,” and told a black boy: “I wish I had as much time to lie in the sun as you do.”

He seems to have chosen him as a role model.

 

[slider]

I'm kind of resigned to power corrupting. Can't think of any leader out there worthy of the name. Obama's still new so he'd probably be near the top of any list. If I were to compile a list.

 

[Tarazet]

Bush was never obnoxious.

He was just a non-stop cringe producer.

 

[clemenx]

Chavez.

 

[Walshicus]

This article reads very fair and balanced. It hasn't at all exagerated the tone or intent of the President's comments...

Seriously, are we so foolish that we don't question the dubiousness of such a long list of faux pas?

 

[Buba Big Guns]

Berlusconi is fucking hilarious.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Short man complex.

 

[tsef]

I knew who that thread was about before clicking it

Isn't this the president who ditched his old wife and got a supermodel because of his tanking popularity?

Nope, she ditched him.

 

[Walshicus]

Also, is nobody else the least bit amused by how the article [which Google turned up as coming from The Times, not mentioned in the OP...] spins what are effectively neutral comments into negative?

How about:
"Sarkozy praises Obama's intelligence, subtlety and charisma"?
"Sarkozy says Obama demonstrates Christ-like popularity"?
"Sarkozy welcomes Spanish move to French position"?
"Sarkozy stresses democratic elections as only true measure of success"?


And who was this black priest? Who was this black boy? When was he caught saying what he was supposed to have said?


Sorry, I fucking hate this style of writing.

 

[speculawyer]

Berlusconi is fucking hilarious.

I'll give him points for his fake humping of the meter-maid . . . but he is mostly just an a-hole.

 

[Kak.efes]

France deserves all the ridicule it receives. From top to bottom it's peppered with blind pride and idiocy. I think it has to have something to do with the language though, because those French Canadians aren't much better! :lol

As a bilingual Canadian

..

.

 

[itsinmyveins]

I'll give him points for his fake humping of the meter-maid . . . but he is mostly just an a-hole.

I posted exactly that video earlier in this thread but it seems to be a fake video, so I edited it out

 

[speculawyer]

I posted exactly that video earlier in this thread but it seems to be a fake video, so I edited it out

Well, I guess he is just an a-hole then.

 

[itsinmyveins]

Well, I guess he is just an a-hole then.

Didn't he say something like "look at it like weekend camping" when people, who've become homeless after the earthquake in Italy recently, got kinda disgruntled about the whole situation (living in tents and etc)?

 

[RevoDS]

France deserves all the ridicule it receives. From top to bottom it's peppered with blind pride and idiocy. I think it has to have something to do with the language though, because those French Canadians aren't much better! :lol

This coming from someone who's making broad judgements of an entire language, people and culture based on nothing but retarded stereotypes.

Looks like the French-speaking don't quite have a monopoly on stupidity

 

[xbhaskarx]

anyways, its not like france contributes anything of worth anymore.

France deserves all the ridicule it receives. From top to bottom it's peppered with blind pride and idiocy.

Go back in time 6 years, replace Obama with Bush and Sarkozy with Chirac, and people on the right were saying the exact same thing about France.

 

[NewLib]

Go back in time 6 years, replace Obama with Bush and Sarkozy with Chirac, and people on the right were saying the exact same thing about France.

First time ever Conservatives and Liberals have been right about the same thing!

 

[Ela Hadrun]

Sarkozy is effin crazy. Chirac was a little crazy, like average Frenchman crazy. Sarkozy is balls-to-the-wall, whenever his handlers will allow him near the walls.

 

[JayDubya]

Well, the world doesn't have any president, but the United States replaced an obnoxious president with an obnoxious president, so I guess /thread?