Je Vis dans le Monde Reel

Carol Platt Liebau | September 27, 2009 7:46 PM

Claudia Rosett details the remarks of President Sarkozy, who pulled the gauzy visions of unicorns and rainbows from President Obama's eyes (if for only a moment) at last week's summit. Among his remarks were the following:

We are here to guarantee peace. We are right to talk about the future. But the present comes before the future, and the present includes two major nuclear crises. The peoples of the entire world are listening to what we are saying, including our promises, commitments and speeches. But we live in the real world, not in a virtual one. . . .

I support America’s extended hand. But what have these proposals for dialogue produced for the international community? Nothing but more enriched uranium and more centrifuges. And last but not least, it has resulted in a statement by Iranian leaders calling for wiping off the map a Member of the United Nations. What are we to do? What conclusion are we to draw? At a certain moment hard facts will force us to take decisions.

Sarkozy went on to North Korea's flouting of international law in its drive to obtain nuclear weapons.

What a sad day it is when it's France -- rather than America -- that's serving up the rhetorical and policy "freedom fries."

President Obama will do as little as he can, of course -- which leaves all the countries who have gotten so much mileage out of cursing the US in a strange and precarious position. Ultimately, the reality is that Obama doesn't really care about foreign affairs, because he isn't all that interested in changing "the world." He wants to change America . . . because for him, we're the #1 problem.