What's this? France- our friend again?!

Though I'm not blogging as often these days as I'd like, an event occurred last Sunday which must be remarked upon: France- yes, France!- elected a pro-American president!

Nicolas Sarkozy- who pledged to repair his country's alliance with the United States; who made a point of attending a memorial service in the States on 9/11 of last year;who wants to strengthen France's military; and who (while he doesn't believe that the United States should have invaded Iraq in the first place) says that it would be crazy for us to withdraw now, won 53% of the vote in a runoff against Socialist and Hillary-wannabe Ségolène Royal. Days before the election, Royal accused Sarkozy of being "a clone of George W. Bush." Well, the accusation didn't have its intended effect. Michael Reagan quotes one anonymous French voter as saying that she was "simply sick of all this anti-Americanism."

Sarkozy- the Interior Minister during that bizarre Muslim uprising in France a few years ago, and one of those in the Chirac government most inclined to take a somewhat hard line in the matter- took a strong stand in the campaign against further steps toward what has seemed to be a future Caliphate of Paris. Further Islamization of France will find in him a formidable opponent.

Royal finished second to Sarkozy in the opening round of voting on April 22, and faced him in the runoff with essentially the united support of the French Left. It's worth noting- to our own national shame- that the voter turnout in that opening round was 85%; we can rarely register half in our own presidential elections.

Sarkozy takes office May l6. As of that date, it's 'bye-'bye, Jacques Chirac!

It's worth noting that at a time when Shrillery and the American Left are counting on a sea change in American politics at our next presidential election, the tide all around the democratic world is moving in a very different direction. Canada: Martin out; Harper in! Germany: Schmidt out, Merkel in! England: Blair, true, is soon to be out- but both his designated Labour successor Gordon Brown, and Tory leader David Cameron are just as pro-American. And now... a pro-American French president!

In case you haven't heard, we've alienated all of our allies, and it'll take Shrillery to get them back. Uh-huh.