L.R. Burt

Today’s front-page headline of my Yahoo homepage:

President George W. Bush will treat French President Nicolas Sarkozy to a casual lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs at his family home in Maine on Saturday, signaling warmer U.S. ties with France after strains over the Iraq war.

(I guess this means that President Sarkozy’s burgers and hot dogs will not be served Freedom Fries on the side.)

It was a rare invitation. Only one other foreign leader has been invited by Bush to his family’s seaside compound along the northeastern state’s rocky coast — Russian President Vladimir Putin in July to try and soothe escalating tensions over U.S. missile defense plans in Europe.

(If I were President Sarkozy, I’d be miffed; if I recall correctly, Bush fed Putin Maine lobster.

Also, I think there might be a direct correlation between global relations and menu choices. Putin = Lobster = High Priority Ally Because We Don’t Want You To Nuke Us; Sarkozy = weenies = We Don’t Really Give A Crap What You Think Of Us. (To be fair, nobody really cares whether the French approve, do they?)

Which begs the question: what would Bush feed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if he took it into his head to wine and dine Iran?)

The lunch for Sarkozy will be “traditional American picnic fare” that included hot dogs and hamburgers, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

(From a purely editorial standpoint, why did they tell us twice in the space of three brief paragraphs that the menu was hot dogs and hamburgers? Did they think we would forget? Is there some significance here I’m missing?)

Described by the White House as a casual, social, event, the lunch will also give Sarkozy an opportunity to meet the Bush family. Bush’s parents, twin daughters Jenna and Barbara, brother Jeb and sister Doro were expected to attend.

(Actually, this is an educational article. I didn’t know Bush had a sister.  A quick jaunt to Wikipedia confirms this, as well as informing me there are two more Bush brothers I didn’t know about, and a sister who is deceased.)

Sarkozy’s wife, Cecilia, called first lady Laura Bush on Saturday morning and said she and her children weren’t feeling well and would not attend the lunch, Perino said.

(My guess: Madame Sarkozy and the little Sarkozy were not thrilled at the prospect of hot dogs and hamburgers. After all, they are French.)

Seriously — why does this make the news? Is traditional American picnic fare supposed to raise Bush’s approval rating?

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george w. bush, hot dogs, nicolas sarkozy, silliness, stupid journalism