Cheney and Giuliani Heart France

The French have rehabilitated their image among Republicans as cheese-eating surrender monkeys. Remember when, after France lobbied the world against the U.S. invasion of Iraq, U.S. Republicans declared a cultural War on France? Item: House cafeteria now serves "freedom fries" and "freedom toast." Item: "John Kerry looks French."

What a difference a few years makes. Several days ago, Dick Cheney's wife Lynne dropped the bombshell that Dick Cheney and Barack Obama are related. But the bigger news to me is that Cheney's and Obama's common relative was French! Republicans are scrambling all over Capitol Hill to tell the press that "funny, Cheney doesn't look French."

Now comes word that leading Republicans, including Rudolph Giuliani, Willard Romney and Newton Gingrich* are in love with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Giuliani even dreams about Sarkozy.

I guess we will now have to add "fickle" to the list of uniquely American traits.

*Politicians' cute nicknames are merely devious attempts at faux familiarity.