Weekend At Bernie's

The International Herald Tribune informs us this day that Bernard Kouchner, one time practitioner in digestive endoscopy, has opined recently that as to America, "the magic is over".

While we're not entirely sure what that's supposed to mean, we think that the good doctor is preaching to the choir, because that's what they expect to hear in his part of the world and he didn't want to disappoint.

I'm going to studiously avoid all the canards, japes and rough jesting that the French have unjustly suffered at the hands of a bunch of rude backwoodsmen and yahoos hereabouts.

I will merely say that if I was the Tom And Louis Show over at Airbus and that those unmagicked people had just handed me a contract worth $40 billion, I might see if there are some unemplyed Irishmen with knowledge of kneecapping to get this guy out of circulation for a while.

It's not so much that Mr. Kuechner is not entitled to his point of view, or that it isn't shared by a lot of people that rubs us the wrong way. It's the casual disrespect that grates.

I mean, he could have gotten up in public and said "George Bush is wrong and Iraq was a horrible blunder." and I'm quite sure that a lot of us would have agreed with him and reminded him that the electorate here is striving manfully to remedy all that.

But stating your mind to your associates and even people you think a lot of in an open and frank discussion and casually insulting people in public are two very different things, even if you go on and try to establish a factual basis for what you've just said-which is sort of establishing your cause after the fact. It's akin to post hoc ergo propter hoc logical fallacy in a way.

Perhaps, like some other folks, Kuechner was looking for another fifteen minutes of fame in the way that so many others have trod.

Well, nevermind. What's said is said, and people will remember the bad smell of this when he comes around looking for something or other .That's the view from here.

Mother always said if you can't say anything nice it's best to say nothing at all. I'm guessing the lesson was lost.We've no shortage of horse's asses in politics here-Steve King for one-and that's why we can easily recognize them when we see them.

Photograph courtesy of the French Embassy