In France, that is … a poll published today by Le Figaro indicates that if the U.S. Presidential election were held today in France, Obama would win … by 80% to 8%! The article notes that a similar poll in Great Britain shows Obama ahead 49% to 12% (the rest were in pubs and unavailable for comment), and that polls in India and Kenya show Obama with leads of 9% […]
So you might ask. So I might answer like this. Up at 6:15. Suzie puts the coffee on and we wait until we hear that lovely sound of the last bit of water in the reservoir being coughed into the grounds. Lie in bed awhile reading the French paper from yesterday. Finally the coffee kicks in and we try to get Will out of bed. As will be the subject […]
Yesterday I had the afternoon completely free, and it was a perfect fall day, clear and bright, so I decided to take a walk around Paris. Sometimes I think my readers (viewers?) prefer pictures to words, so here are a few, with some limited commentary. First, a couple of political pictures: The Assemblee Nationale, the U.S. Embassy (sadly behind rows of concrete barriers and police), and the Elysee Palace, home […]
We were able to watch John McCain’s acceptance speech a day after he gave it, courtesy of the l’Assemblee Nationale and the Senat, which have a TV channel something like C-SPAN, and which broadcast the speech in its entirety (overdubbed, of course, by a translation in French). It was a bit difficult to listen to, because I found myself trying to do multiple things all at once — listen in […]
It pains me to think that our time in Paris is already one-third gone. It seems to have flown by, even though (as the highly-educated, classy, consistent readers of this blog know) we have done a lot. Here are a few reflections on the surprises so far. The most pleasant surprise is an entirely personal one. Before this trip, I had more than a little fear that the great amount […]
I’ve been having a small, annoying, common medical problem that is entirely treatable by any number of products that you see advertised on TV in the U.S. during sporting events. (No, no, no, it’s not that problem … jamais, jamais in Paris, the city of love!) But here in France, it isn’t possible to just to into a drug store and buy products like that. Such products (and others equally […]
OK, Jill, here’s a hint (the question is here): I read on some blog yesterday that one of Ms. Palin’s apologists said that one of her foreign policy qualifications is that Alaska is the state closest to Russia. As I said, this is going to be fun!
Our potential next Vice President, via Associated Press: The first-term Alaska governor told reporters she was having fun in her new role. “It’s great to see another part of the country,” she said. Yep, running for Vice President is a great way to learn all about the USA. You know that old trick reporters sometimes play, where they ask candidates to name the Prime Minister of some foreign country? Here’s […]
From Paris, John McCain’s selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin seems bizarre. Step back from the moment-to-moment campaign jostling and ask this question: You are John McCain. You think you will be elected President. Who do you want as your V.P? You’d think that the independent, strong, leader McCain would step up to the plate and give us someone just as solid and substantial as he is, someone who he […]
[Editor’s note: Suzie continues, with some minor editing and photographic additions from SSS.] We had discovered that our kids would be placed in the worst school in Paris. We were aware that much of what we read could be the normal rumors and speculation that often surround parental discussions of schools. However, the ranking of the third worst school in France was not a parent’s subjective measure. Action was needed, […]