...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...

May 03, 2007

Battle Royal

Memo to Republican candidates: here's one way to get Hillary's goat. Be polite. That was what Rick Lazio got wrong, when he did his famous "space invading" gesture during the 2000 NY senate race.

For more than two hours, France's presidential front-runner needled his challenger during a debate Wednesday, wrapping it in a veneer of chivalry and always addressing her as "Madame."

Finally, Segolene Royal snapped. The woman seeking to become France's first female president erupted in anger toward the end of the prime-time duel with conservative Nicolas Sarkozy.

It was surprising -- and potentially damaging -- that Royal, not Sarkozy, proved quick to anger. During their bitter election campaign, the Socialist has sought to portray her conservative rival as too unstable, too brutal, to lead the nuclear-armed nation.

In front of millions of television viewers, Sarkozy turned the tables. Royal got furious when he started talking about disabled children, saying he was "playing" with the issue. "I am very angry," she said.

"You become unhinged very easily, Madame," Sarkozy said. "To be president of the republic, one must be calm. . . . I don't know why Mrs. Royal, who's usually calm, has lost her calm."

Smooth move, Sarko!

Hey does anybody speak French? I think this is the video.

By the way, I know nothing about French politics, except that Royal is a hottie, and she's a socialist. Sarkozy, I remember, got in trouble during the recent "youth" riots for stating the obvious: that the rioters were thugs.

Posted by annika, May. 3, 2007 | TrackBack (0)
Rubric: annikapunditry



Comments

Sarkozy will likely win, Royal is just slinging mud (with the help of the media and celebrities of france). Sarkozy would be an interesting change of pace for French politics (not being a socialist), but uh, depends on how sneaky the democra...i mean socialists will be in trying to stop his agenda after the election.

Posted by: Scof on May. 3, 2007

The riots really brought out the worst in the French. (But did anybody expect anything less than the worst from these effete snobs?) As usual, the country's Left (and even some of the Right) refused to acknowledge that the thugs were thugs and that most were Muslim thugs. Funny thing is the Lefties are the same everywhere: it's never the thug's fault.

Posted by: blu on May. 3, 2007

[Royal got furious when he started talking about disabled children, saying he was "playing" with the issue.]

Ah, that reminds me of the 2000 presidential debates where Gore was saying that Bush was lying about wanting to spend all of the money on entitlements and shit. Kanye West is wrong: Bush really cares about black people.

Posted by: reagan80 on May. 3, 2007

"Royal is a hottie, and she's a socialist"

Everything epitomized right there. Socialist bitch, keep yo' mouth shut! You/it's mouth, and you, have one purpose; and if you is spewing noise you ain't using it right!

Know your place!

Posted by: Radical Redneck on May. 4, 2007

If you want me to make a transcript & translation of what's said on the video, A, I'll be happy to do so.


Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim on May. 4, 2007

Now that I've watched the vid, I can say that this isn't the moment where Royal has her meltdown. The announcer mentions, toward the end of the clip, that Sarko comes off as more precise in his suggested remedies and solutions than Royal does in hers.

At one point in this clip, Royal says, "You're joking!", but this isn't flying off the handle. I'm guessing, from the article you quoted, that her grand moment occurred further on.


Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim on May. 4, 2007

thanks for checking that Kevin. Most of the youtube clips seemed to show that one moment for some reason.

Posted by: annika on May. 4, 2007

I'm pretty sure that clip is from a Swiss news channel, firstly because the guy doing the voiceover has a Swiss accent (he speaks in the slow, dopey way that French people mock), and secondly because, early on, he makes reference to the fact that "if 20 million French people watched it [the debate], a goodly proportion of 'romands' won't have missed it, either."

The French term "romands" is shorthand for "suisse-romands," i.e., French-speaking Swiss.

I checked around re: Royal's blowup... it doesn't appear to have been much more than a rash of finger-pointing, followed by Sarkozy's accusing Royal of having lost her temper, to which she replied that there are some things worth losing one's temper about, and that she would likely find reasons to be angry while in office, too (obviously, I'm not quoting this directly).

Final note: you called Royal "hot," but I think I'd call her "handsome" in the 1800s sense.


Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim on May. 4, 2007

She is way more than handsome. She's incredibly elegant, with a friendly face, beautiful hair, open and feminine eyes, and an extremely youthful appearance for a woman her age.

Any man with blood in his veins would find her attractive and want to get to know her better.

Posted by: Roach on May. 4, 2007

I concur, Radical Redneck. Hopefully, Sarko will give her an electoral bitch-slap soon.

Posted by: reagan80 on May. 4, 2007

Roach,

You may be right... but can ol' Uncle Ségolène do... THIS??


Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim on May. 5, 2007

Forget about all the fan service, I want to know how many calories they actually burned in that aerobics workout session.

Posted by: reagan80 on May. 5, 2007