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Right-wing Francophiles Unite!!!


Readers of the KOTCB blog already know that my admiration for Publius Decius Mus (AKA Michael Anton) couldn't get any higher and I believe his CRB article “The Flight 93 Election” and, especially, his "Restatement on Flight 93", which is the real money shot but almost never gets the attention afforded its set up, are two of the greatest polemics on the sorry state of American "Conservatism" in my lifetime (See KOTCB The US Airways Flight 1549 Election (You're perfectly right) and Decius drops the mic). But Tuesday's article in the NYTimes "A National Security Aide’s Departing Wish: Cooking for the State Dinner" has elevated Anton, in my view, to demigod status and I think I now understand exactly why his words resonated so deeply in my soul:
“I’m a rare thing in Washington conservative circles: a right-wing Francophile,” said Mr. Anton, who first served in the White House during the George W. Bush administration, when the Iraq war curdled relations with Paris. “It makes it a special honor that I didn’t merely cook at the state dinner, but of all people, I cooked for the president of France.”
"A right-wing Francophile" - OMG, #MeToo. That's what I am and anyone who reads this blog knows it. I celebrate Bastille Day (KOTCB Liberté, Sûreté, Propriété), advocate French Imperialism (KOTCB The Pursuit of Un-happiness) and defend France when our own Sec. of State fails to do so (KOTCB This and That tout le monde) so I've got a written record of being balls deep with our longest (and most inscrutable) ally. Like a beautiful woman with super-soul she fascinates and infuriates me with her mischievous and contradictory ways - moody, charming (when she wants to be), devious and dishonest at times, pure hearted and innocent the next day, fierce as a blood soaked battlefield when pushed, gentle as an afternoon's lovemaking when pliant, oh yeah, and sexy as hell. Don't misunderstand, I don't want to be France, and I've warned against this odd American desire (KOTCB Make America France Again) as only the French can make a country like France (KOTCB “The great debate will finally take place”) and that matter of taste (KOTCB Macaron is softer then Le Pen) requires centuries of cultural refinement that simply don't exist in the New World. We don't have politicians the equal of, say, DSK (KOTCB La culture de colza) and our espresso bars are a pale imitation of the real thing (KOTCB Cafe macchina di duplicazione) so though I can't (and wouldn't want to) be France, I can admire, love and celebrate her (KOTCB Celebrate the Day). To put it in colloquial terms that any American can understand, while England is our Brother with whom we have an unbreakable bond, France is our Wife and that, my friends, is what I call a "special relationship."

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