When one goes to Europe, the weight of history seems (and is) so much stronger than it is in the United States. Certainly this is particularly true of the relationship between the French and the Germans. Americans – of course – are unconcerned about history of any kind, much less European history. In considering French/German relations, most would think back only to World War II or, if they are older, perhaps World War I. (Though I need to add that I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that 50% of Americans under 30 don’t know anything substantial about World War II.) But, to really understand the French/German relationship one must certainly go back much farther in time. At the very least, one must throw into the mix Napoleon’s invasion and occupation of Germany, as well as the Franco-Prussian war.
I don’t really have the space here, nor the inclination or, most certainly, the expertise to discuss the complications of the relationship between these two fine countries and their wonderful people. But, a few morsels follow as food for thought.
We are staying in Baden-Baden, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, which lies 10 kilometers from the French border. It is a place of stunning beauty and incredible cultural richness. It is an international destination popular for its famous baths, for classical music year round, for its fine restaurants and hotels, and so much more. Tourists come from all over the world to experience this incredible place. So, do the French also cross the border to appreciate this wonderland in their backyard? Apparently, no. One hears very, very little French around town. Mais, pourquoi pas?
When I mentioned to Peter how nice everybody in France was to us, he said – “ah, but you are Americans.” Now – as I have already mentioned – Peter is the nicest person in the world. Thus, he wouldn’t say that with no reason. And, Peter lived in France for many years, worked for a French company, and his son went through the French school system and is, for all intents and purposes, French. Peter is not a knee-jerk anti-French person by any means. So, when he tells me that the reception can be hostile to Germans by some French people, I am inclined to believe there is some truth to it.
When we were discussing the relationship of the French and Germans with a delightful German friend of Peter’s, she told us that when she hears someone speaking French when she is in America (where she lives 4 months of the year), she switches to English as a defensive measure. Wow.
And, finally, I actually witnessed a troubling encounter between a young French woman and Peter. We were at a concert with table seating. The tables were very tightly packed together and one needed to cooperate with the neighboring tables to orchestrate it so everyone could get comfortable. This particular woman pushed her chair into Peter’s chair – and kept pushing. When he asked her to please move a bit so he had some room, she really let him have it. It was bizarre actually and, indeed, incredibly rude. (While this was happening on one side of the table, by contrast, I became fast friends with a man named Wolfgang when I stepped on his toes.) Peter turned to me and said – “so, is this the nice French people that you talk about?” Leslie and I contended that it had nothing to do with the fact that she was French and everything to do with the fact that she was a complete jerk. Peter good-naturally agreed. Nonetheless, would it had been different with me? Would her reception to me – an obvious American - have been much nicer and more accommodating? Je ne sais pas…..But, I do now wonder.
Monday, August 11, 2008
So, are Germans nice like the French?
Written on August 7th (but I was away from the internet)
As mentioned earlier, this is my first time in Germany. We are here for three days in Baden-Baden visiting some friends we made via housetrading, Peter and Sabine. We followed Peter’s directions to his home in Baden-Baden. When we arrived, there was no obvious public parking, but some private parking that we pulled into temporarily to check the exact address. Within 10 seconds, we had our very first interaction with a German. A man from an apartment building balcony some distance away dramatically waggled his finger to us in the universal sign of “don’t do that”. We attempted some conversation with him to explain that our presence there was very temporary, but he was too far away to understand Leslie’s halting German. So, we retreated.
I didn’t think this was a good sign. I had been in France for four weeks and not one “don’t do that” came my way. Now, less than 10 seconds parked in Germany and I am already being corrected!
The above was going to be the end of my blog entry, but since then every other interaction with the people here has been marvelous. And, even extraordinary. I think I will wait for another blog entry to fully describe our fabulous German hosts. But, let me say for the record that I really doubt that nicer and more generous people can be found in the world than Peter and Sabine.
But, I do want to relate another tale that gives a good example of our welcome here. Peter and Sabine keep an extra apartment for family and friends that is only a few blocks from their house. It is a very comfortable flat on the fifth floor of the building (the sixth floor in American-speak). While there is an elevator, we always use the stairs. Today, I went out to buy some food when I realized I needed a little more money. I returned to the door and put the key in – but couldn’t get the lock to work. As I was fiddling, I heard Leslie approach from the other side of the door to open it for me. But, it wasn’t Leslie. It was another woman, – dressed in a white t-shirt – and nothing else (that I could see, that is). Obviously, I screwed up the floor. As I was searching my brain for my German from high school to explain and apologize, the woman exclaimed: “Hello! Are you the friends of Peter and Sabine?” I expected fear, shock or irritation that I was trying to enter her home– but instead she pulled me into her apartment as if we were long-lost friends and apologized for her clothes as she was in the process of cleaning. Let me re-emphasize - she was the one apologizing!! She mentioned that “if you were French, I wouldn’t have answered the door looking like this– but I know people from the United States are more casual and wouldn’t mind”. (She had a peep-hole, so presumably she looked through it and surmised who I was from my no-French-woman-would-be-caught-dead-in-it t-shirt.) And, by the way, she actually looked fabulous. She introduced herself (her name is Monica) and then proceeded to entertain me with stories of Peter and Sabine, showed me a lot of photos, gave me restaurant recommendations and so forth. By the end of this surprise encounter with Monica, I had invited her to visit us in the United States! And, I really hope she comes sometime, may I add.
So, bottom-line, Germans are nice, too.
As mentioned earlier, this is my first time in Germany. We are here for three days in Baden-Baden visiting some friends we made via housetrading, Peter and Sabine. We followed Peter’s directions to his home in Baden-Baden. When we arrived, there was no obvious public parking, but some private parking that we pulled into temporarily to check the exact address. Within 10 seconds, we had our very first interaction with a German. A man from an apartment building balcony some distance away dramatically waggled his finger to us in the universal sign of “don’t do that”. We attempted some conversation with him to explain that our presence there was very temporary, but he was too far away to understand Leslie’s halting German. So, we retreated.
I didn’t think this was a good sign. I had been in France for four weeks and not one “don’t do that” came my way. Now, less than 10 seconds parked in Germany and I am already being corrected!
The above was going to be the end of my blog entry, but since then every other interaction with the people here has been marvelous. And, even extraordinary. I think I will wait for another blog entry to fully describe our fabulous German hosts. But, let me say for the record that I really doubt that nicer and more generous people can be found in the world than Peter and Sabine.
But, I do want to relate another tale that gives a good example of our welcome here. Peter and Sabine keep an extra apartment for family and friends that is only a few blocks from their house. It is a very comfortable flat on the fifth floor of the building (the sixth floor in American-speak). While there is an elevator, we always use the stairs. Today, I went out to buy some food when I realized I needed a little more money. I returned to the door and put the key in – but couldn’t get the lock to work. As I was fiddling, I heard Leslie approach from the other side of the door to open it for me. But, it wasn’t Leslie. It was another woman, – dressed in a white t-shirt – and nothing else (that I could see, that is). Obviously, I screwed up the floor. As I was searching my brain for my German from high school to explain and apologize, the woman exclaimed: “Hello! Are you the friends of Peter and Sabine?” I expected fear, shock or irritation that I was trying to enter her home– but instead she pulled me into her apartment as if we were long-lost friends and apologized for her clothes as she was in the process of cleaning. Let me re-emphasize - she was the one apologizing!! She mentioned that “if you were French, I wouldn’t have answered the door looking like this– but I know people from the United States are more casual and wouldn’t mind”. (She had a peep-hole, so presumably she looked through it and surmised who I was from my no-French-woman-would-be-caught-dead-in-it t-shirt.) And, by the way, she actually looked fabulous. She introduced herself (her name is Monica) and then proceeded to entertain me with stories of Peter and Sabine, showed me a lot of photos, gave me restaurant recommendations and so forth. By the end of this surprise encounter with Monica, I had invited her to visit us in the United States! And, I really hope she comes sometime, may I add.
So, bottom-line, Germans are nice, too.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Twilight Zone
We left Paris and arrived at Nancy in eastern France on Friday. As is our habit and preference, we were trading houses – the couple was already in San Francisco and would be at our home in a couple of days. Francine – our trading partner – had come to Paris to give us our keys for the house and work out a few logistics.
I had googled the street we were at - “10 rue Guy Ropartz” – and had made a copy of our area of the town, copied the bus map from the Gare (train station) and was feeling on top of everything. It turned out that we didn’t even have to take the bus because our ridiculously nice friend, Judith, drove 1 ½ hours from her home to pick us up and drive us 1 mile! She (and her boyfriend, Pierre) dropped us at our lovely house in the burbs and, after a brief stay, went on their way.
And, then we entered the twilight zone.
I took my map and we walked around our neighborhood to get the lay of the land. And nothing was right. None of the streets corresponded to our map. There was no one around. Very little traffic. No stores were open (though it was a weekday and not that late.) Dorothy, I don’t think we are in Paris anymore! Do you remember that episode of the Twilight Zone where the guy was walking around the deserted town? Really, it felt like that. Very eerie.
The house was lovely, but yet somewhat strange. They left very little in the way of instructions and appliances are very different here. They had refinished the floors recently and it smelled of that. We couldn’t open the windows to air it out, though, as they were all stuck closed. We couldn’t get the lights to go off in the stairway and hall. We couldn’t get the CD or DVD or stove to go on. The toilet was running and when I tried to fix it – I broke off the float ball and water sprayed everywhere. I was able to turn off the angle stop (or, at least, the French version of it) so the water stopped but that was only a small consolation.
Did I mention that the internet (WiFi) that they promised wasn’t working and the car that they left for our use didn’t start?
They left a cat that came in and out of a very loud cat door at will, which was also jarring. And, the strangest thing of all to me was that – at 1:00 at night – kids started playing outdoors. It sounded just like an elementary school at recess. They were laughing and screaming and, well, it sounded just like an elementary school at recess. But they did this until 2:00 am. Now, we had just come from three weeks in the biggest city in France and we hardily ever heard a peep after 10:00 pm. This was very, very strange indeed.
At this point, I was absolutely convinced that I had entered another dimension.
All of the above is true, but the order of our particular problems is a bit fictionalized. We did get the internet working fairly readily after an initial frustrating period. With a little internet sleuthing, I found out that the address I googled was for “Nancy, France” but our house is actually in “Villers-le-Nancy, France” which is a suburb of Nancy. Who knew? Both, in turned out, had a “10 rue de Guy Ropartz”. I guess he was a real important guy. Thus – if our extremely nice friend, Judith, had not driven 1 ½ hours to drive us a mile, we would have taken a bus to the wrong house and had a real nightmare of our hands. So, as usual, we were really lucky. Again, thanks Judith!!
As for the house…. After a lot of pulling – we did get the windows open so we could breath. And, after waking to the kids screaming in the middle of the night, I was a bit agitated so I got up and fixed the toilet and solved the light problem. After all, dammit, I was a maintenance person and an electrician in my past. We figured out how to turn on the stove. We decided to just play CDs and DVDs on the computer. I learned how to start the car.
And, as for the silent, eerie town with everything closed? Well, it is France and August – and, well, they take the month off! Not everybody and not the full month. But, lots of stores close for 2 or 3 weeks and most people go on a vacation in late July or early August. So, it is rather empty. And, the places we walked around just happened to be full of closed stores and people on vacation – like our trading partners.
So the bottom-line now – we are well settled in our town and home and everything is just fine. It is not the twilight zone. But, the first day was a little sketchy. Sometimes, one does really feel foreign in a foreign country.
I had googled the street we were at - “10 rue Guy Ropartz” – and had made a copy of our area of the town, copied the bus map from the Gare (train station) and was feeling on top of everything. It turned out that we didn’t even have to take the bus because our ridiculously nice friend, Judith, drove 1 ½ hours from her home to pick us up and drive us 1 mile! She (and her boyfriend, Pierre) dropped us at our lovely house in the burbs and, after a brief stay, went on their way.
And, then we entered the twilight zone.
I took my map and we walked around our neighborhood to get the lay of the land. And nothing was right. None of the streets corresponded to our map. There was no one around. Very little traffic. No stores were open (though it was a weekday and not that late.) Dorothy, I don’t think we are in Paris anymore! Do you remember that episode of the Twilight Zone where the guy was walking around the deserted town? Really, it felt like that. Very eerie.
The house was lovely, but yet somewhat strange. They left very little in the way of instructions and appliances are very different here. They had refinished the floors recently and it smelled of that. We couldn’t open the windows to air it out, though, as they were all stuck closed. We couldn’t get the lights to go off in the stairway and hall. We couldn’t get the CD or DVD or stove to go on. The toilet was running and when I tried to fix it – I broke off the float ball and water sprayed everywhere. I was able to turn off the angle stop (or, at least, the French version of it) so the water stopped but that was only a small consolation.
Did I mention that the internet (WiFi) that they promised wasn’t working and the car that they left for our use didn’t start?
They left a cat that came in and out of a very loud cat door at will, which was also jarring. And, the strangest thing of all to me was that – at 1:00 at night – kids started playing outdoors. It sounded just like an elementary school at recess. They were laughing and screaming and, well, it sounded just like an elementary school at recess. But they did this until 2:00 am. Now, we had just come from three weeks in the biggest city in France and we hardily ever heard a peep after 10:00 pm. This was very, very strange indeed.
At this point, I was absolutely convinced that I had entered another dimension.
All of the above is true, but the order of our particular problems is a bit fictionalized. We did get the internet working fairly readily after an initial frustrating period. With a little internet sleuthing, I found out that the address I googled was for “Nancy, France” but our house is actually in “Villers-le-Nancy, France” which is a suburb of Nancy. Who knew? Both, in turned out, had a “10 rue de Guy Ropartz”. I guess he was a real important guy. Thus – if our extremely nice friend, Judith, had not driven 1 ½ hours to drive us a mile, we would have taken a bus to the wrong house and had a real nightmare of our hands. So, as usual, we were really lucky. Again, thanks Judith!!
As for the house…. After a lot of pulling – we did get the windows open so we could breath. And, after waking to the kids screaming in the middle of the night, I was a bit agitated so I got up and fixed the toilet and solved the light problem. After all, dammit, I was a maintenance person and an electrician in my past. We figured out how to turn on the stove. We decided to just play CDs and DVDs on the computer. I learned how to start the car.
And, as for the silent, eerie town with everything closed? Well, it is France and August – and, well, they take the month off! Not everybody and not the full month. But, lots of stores close for 2 or 3 weeks and most people go on a vacation in late July or early August. So, it is rather empty. And, the places we walked around just happened to be full of closed stores and people on vacation – like our trading partners.
So the bottom-line now – we are well settled in our town and home and everything is just fine. It is not the twilight zone. But, the first day was a little sketchy. Sometimes, one does really feel foreign in a foreign country.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Someone rude in France!
Yes, I finally found a rude person! She works at Shakespeare's bookstore in Paris (a famous English-language bookstore) and I and Leslie both found her to be snide and unfriendly and minimally helpful. She is, of course, not French - but from some English-speaking country. Perhaps Britain, perhaps Australia. But, not France. So, there it is - there is a rude person in Paris. Voilà! But, all the actual French people continue to be très, très gentil....
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Des vidéos très amusante
To return to the French language.... I wanted to give links to my favorite videos for French language-learners via youtube. The first few both have the theme of the problem of actually communicating in French after only a little study.
First, there is the youtube French take-off of the “One Semester of Spanish Love-Song”. The original has been viewed (as of July 28, 2008) 3,138,155 times. It is here:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw&feature=related
I think the French take-off is even better, though with a smaller following....
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=s8a2jlx6OG0&feature=Responses&parent_video=ngRq82c8Baw&index=12
I don’t believe that it is anything but a coincidence that my next recommended learning-French video also has a transvestite theme. But, hey, it is Eddy Izzard and that is just who the guy is…His discussion of using français simple est très amusant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY
And, then, the last is a poignant and sad but also very funny and sweet short film. It is the final segment from the movie Paris, Je T’aime:
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/paris-je-taime-14th-arrondissement-p1.php
May I say that it is clear that two semesters of French are all you need to navigate Paris. I have bought train tickets, stamps, food, maps, newspapers, bread, meals in a restaurant, drinks in a café and asked important questions such as the always useful “Où sont les toilettes, s’il vous plait?” with no problems. And, I am proud to say, not one of those times have these folks tried to switch to English with me. All transactions have occurred completely - and successfully - in French and, as always, everyone was quite nice. To this, I want to say a very emphatic VOILÀ!
But, I sure can’t converse in French if subtlety, nuance, depth or wit are required. Oh, by the way, I am pretty sure that if you look you will find that le chat est sur la chaise et le singe est sur la branche. Adiós!
First, there is the youtube French take-off of the “One Semester of Spanish Love-Song”. The original has been viewed (as of July 28, 2008) 3,138,155 times. It is here:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw&feature=related
I think the French take-off is even better, though with a smaller following....
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=s8a2jlx6OG0&feature=Responses&parent_video=ngRq82c8Baw&index=12
I don’t believe that it is anything but a coincidence that my next recommended learning-French video also has a transvestite theme. But, hey, it is Eddy Izzard and that is just who the guy is…His discussion of using français simple est très amusant.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY
And, then, the last is a poignant and sad but also very funny and sweet short film. It is the final segment from the movie Paris, Je T’aime:
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/paris-je-taime-14th-arrondissement-p1.php
May I say that it is clear that two semesters of French are all you need to navigate Paris. I have bought train tickets, stamps, food, maps, newspapers, bread, meals in a restaurant, drinks in a café and asked important questions such as the always useful “Où sont les toilettes, s’il vous plait?” with no problems. And, I am proud to say, not one of those times have these folks tried to switch to English with me. All transactions have occurred completely - and successfully - in French and, as always, everyone was quite nice. To this, I want to say a very emphatic VOILÀ!
But, I sure can’t converse in French if subtlety, nuance, depth or wit are required. Oh, by the way, I am pretty sure that if you look you will find that le chat est sur la chaise et le singe est sur la branche. Adiós!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Where are the window screens?
I have discovered the singular worst thing about France. They don't have window screens! Maybe somewhere - but not in this neighborhood. But, they do have mosquitos. Thus, every night is a damn battle with the mosquitos buzzing around our heads. We are all getting bit at an alarming rate but it is too warm to not open the windows. So, if you are planning to visit, you might want to pack your mosquito netting...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Political gossip - Edwards fall?
While I often obsess here about the French language and my very poor attempts to speak it, I can’t really get up the energy to write about it. Perhaps because it has been a huge struggle for me. It isn’t that fun to talk about my semi-failures. Perhaps later in the trip I will gain some energy to tackle it.
But, today I am obsessed by something else. I have decided to throw my hat in the ring, as it were, as a political/news journalism blogger. I have been tracking, of course, Obama’s and McCain’s campaigns – both reading French sources such as Le Monde, Le Figaro and Liberation – and reading American sources such as NY Times, Dailykos, Slate, New Republic and Huffington Post. (As an aside, I might not be able to speak French – but I have no problem reading their newspapers now.)
But, in doing this reading I ran into the existing Internet storm - which I firmly believe will soon be a mainstream media storm - on John Edward’s alleged on-going affair and paternity of an infant with a woman named Rielle Hunter. (As on the internet, I will call the mainstream media MSM) Now, I found out via the Internet that the rumors about this affair have existed since September of 2007. What got the ball rolling was, I believe, this article in the Huffington Post by Sam Stein: He wasn’t looking for an affair, a cover-up or anything of the sort – but he seemed to stumble onto something, nonetheless.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/26/edwards-mystery-innocuou_n_66070.html
The National Enquirer, then, decided to follow the thread to see if there was some hanky-panky behind the story. They have published various accusations - with lots of smoke but no gun - about this alleged affair and his paternity but no MSM source picked it up – most likely because another married man, Andrew Young (a good friend of Edwards) has claimed paternity. But, the Enquirer kept on the case and certainly strengthened their case this week. The MSM – albeit just Fox – added confirmation. The comically sad story is here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html
Right wing Internet sources have, of course, jumped on the story. Beyond the Huffington Post, the left-wing sources have stayed pretty quiet. To the degree that it has been discussed within the left, there are eight basic reactions (with my take following in blue):
1. Enquirer and Fox. Totally unreliable sources. Maybe, maybe not. This will become clear over the next few days. But, if you look at all the evidence out there, it really has the ring of truth. At this point, I would be willing to put $100 down that the basic story is true – that he was visiting her in LA at that hotel. But, could there be an innocent explanation? Sure. Maybe they are just really good friends....
2. He is no longer a candidate, so whether it is true or not is irrelevant and he should be left alone. Come on, he is on the list of VP candidates and is certainly also in line for a potential cabinet post – so that response is lame.
3. Who cares if it true or not. There are really important things out there. Stop with this sex- stuff already. Let’s be more like the French and let our politicians have mistresses if they want! On the one hand, I couldn’t agree more. And, indeed if we were like the French, I would be shrugging along with everyone else. But, we are not.
4. If it is true, he isn’t going to get the VP nod or a post in the administration. Yep, that is true. And, at this point – I certainly don’t want Obama to appoint him to anything unless, of course, the story is shown to be crap or an innocent explanation is really there.
5. If true, it is so sad for Elizabeth. Yep. It sucks to be in the public eye sometimes.
6. If it is true, it does, in fact, raise some big and legitimate character questions about Edwards and it is a legitimate story, not just gossip. This is strongly my point of view.
7. If it is true, how stupid can you get? Could he not learn from Gary Hart, Bill Clinton and Elliot Spitzer – to name just a few? Apparently, no.
8. Karl Rove is behind this. Oh, come on. He isn't that all-powerful. And, he would have certainly waited until Edwards was actually appointed to something to spring it.
The right-wingers all claim that the story isn’t being followed because of some left bias of the MSM. But, to me that is nonsense. When the press was hounding Clinton over Gennifer Flowers, they refused to really investigate the story of “the other Jennifer” – the alleged lover of Bush the 1st, Jennifer Fitzgerald.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Fitzgerald
And, the press absolutely gave Bush the 2nd a free pass on cocaine:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seery/the-bush-cocaine-chronicl_b_37786.html
In those cases - as this one - I think the principal reason is a convulted combination of cowardice with conviction. But now, thanks to the Internet – it isn’t so easy to sweep things under the rug, for good or ill. And, I must admit that I prefer it this way.
This particular story is at the tipping point. Once the Enquirer publishes their photos (and if they don’t have photos – then the story is surely not true), I believe the MSM will be forced to jump on the story or it will really accelerate the MSM death spiral. And, yes – I feel sorry for John a bit. And Elizabeth a lot. But, in this case, I would rather know the truth. So, I say thank you Sam Stein, National Enquirer and Fox. I am not sure that the truth will set us free – but it might have helped Obama avoid a big fall….
Update Sunday: To the list of leftist reactions may I add that this one has gained some traction: Hillary is behind it (because a supporter of hers owns a big chuck of the Enquirer). To this, I can only say - oh, give me a break!
But, today I am obsessed by something else. I have decided to throw my hat in the ring, as it were, as a political/news journalism blogger. I have been tracking, of course, Obama’s and McCain’s campaigns – both reading French sources such as Le Monde, Le Figaro and Liberation – and reading American sources such as NY Times, Dailykos, Slate, New Republic and Huffington Post. (As an aside, I might not be able to speak French – but I have no problem reading their newspapers now.)
But, in doing this reading I ran into the existing Internet storm - which I firmly believe will soon be a mainstream media storm - on John Edward’s alleged on-going affair and paternity of an infant with a woman named Rielle Hunter. (As on the internet, I will call the mainstream media MSM) Now, I found out via the Internet that the rumors about this affair have existed since September of 2007. What got the ball rolling was, I believe, this article in the Huffington Post by Sam Stein: He wasn’t looking for an affair, a cover-up or anything of the sort – but he seemed to stumble onto something, nonetheless.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/26/edwards-mystery-innocuou_n_66070.html
The National Enquirer, then, decided to follow the thread to see if there was some hanky-panky behind the story. They have published various accusations - with lots of smoke but no gun - about this alleged affair and his paternity but no MSM source picked it up – most likely because another married man, Andrew Young (a good friend of Edwards) has claimed paternity. But, the Enquirer kept on the case and certainly strengthened their case this week. The MSM – albeit just Fox – added confirmation. The comically sad story is here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html
Right wing Internet sources have, of course, jumped on the story. Beyond the Huffington Post, the left-wing sources have stayed pretty quiet. To the degree that it has been discussed within the left, there are eight basic reactions (with my take following in blue):
1. Enquirer and Fox. Totally unreliable sources. Maybe, maybe not. This will become clear over the next few days. But, if you look at all the evidence out there, it really has the ring of truth. At this point, I would be willing to put $100 down that the basic story is true – that he was visiting her in LA at that hotel. But, could there be an innocent explanation? Sure. Maybe they are just really good friends....
2. He is no longer a candidate, so whether it is true or not is irrelevant and he should be left alone. Come on, he is on the list of VP candidates and is certainly also in line for a potential cabinet post – so that response is lame.
3. Who cares if it true or not. There are really important things out there. Stop with this sex- stuff already. Let’s be more like the French and let our politicians have mistresses if they want! On the one hand, I couldn’t agree more. And, indeed if we were like the French, I would be shrugging along with everyone else. But, we are not.
4. If it is true, he isn’t going to get the VP nod or a post in the administration. Yep, that is true. And, at this point – I certainly don’t want Obama to appoint him to anything unless, of course, the story is shown to be crap or an innocent explanation is really there.
5. If true, it is so sad for Elizabeth. Yep. It sucks to be in the public eye sometimes.
6. If it is true, it does, in fact, raise some big and legitimate character questions about Edwards and it is a legitimate story, not just gossip. This is strongly my point of view.
7. If it is true, how stupid can you get? Could he not learn from Gary Hart, Bill Clinton and Elliot Spitzer – to name just a few? Apparently, no.
8. Karl Rove is behind this. Oh, come on. He isn't that all-powerful. And, he would have certainly waited until Edwards was actually appointed to something to spring it.
The right-wingers all claim that the story isn’t being followed because of some left bias of the MSM. But, to me that is nonsense. When the press was hounding Clinton over Gennifer Flowers, they refused to really investigate the story of “the other Jennifer” – the alleged lover of Bush the 1st, Jennifer Fitzgerald.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Fitzgerald
And, the press absolutely gave Bush the 2nd a free pass on cocaine:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seery/the-bush-cocaine-chronicl_b_37786.html
In those cases - as this one - I think the principal reason is a convulted combination of cowardice with conviction. But now, thanks to the Internet – it isn’t so easy to sweep things under the rug, for good or ill. And, I must admit that I prefer it this way.
This particular story is at the tipping point. Once the Enquirer publishes their photos (and if they don’t have photos – then the story is surely not true), I believe the MSM will be forced to jump on the story or it will really accelerate the MSM death spiral. And, yes – I feel sorry for John a bit. And Elizabeth a lot. But, in this case, I would rather know the truth. So, I say thank you Sam Stein, National Enquirer and Fox. I am not sure that the truth will set us free – but it might have helped Obama avoid a big fall….
Update Sunday: To the list of leftist reactions may I add that this one has gained some traction: Hillary is behind it (because a supporter of hers owns a big chuck of the Enquirer). To this, I can only say - oh, give me a break!
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