Slate's Bizbox
ballot box: Politics and policy.

French CorrectionLook who's bragging about the support of foreign leaders.

By William Saletan
Posted Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004, at 5:54 PM ET

"This year, Vice President Dick Cheney chastised Kerry for his reported comment (which later emerged to be a misquotation) that foreign leaders had told him they preferred him for the presidency. A White House spokesman went so far as to challenge Kerry to name names or else admit he had lied. 'American voters are the ones charged with determining the outcome of this election, not unnamed foreign leaders,' Cheney mocked Kerry at the time."
—Los Angeles Times, Sept. 15, 2004

"Cheney made the obligatory pilgrimage to Green Bay last week to pile on. 'I thought after John Kerry's visit here I'd visit Lambert Field,' Cheney told a crowd at a Republican fundraising dinner Thursday night. Then he went in for the kill. 'The next thing is he'll be convinced Vince Lombardi is a foreign leader.' "
—Washington Post, Sept. 15, 2004

"U.S. officials said yesterday that Paris appears ready to accept a few hundred [NATO] military trainers on the ground inside Iraq, which would be an important breakthrough in Mr. Bush's broader effort to show international support for the Iraq operation. ... A senior U.S. official ... attributed the apparent change in Paris's attitude to recent U.S. political polls showing President Bush ahead of Sen. Kerry. 'They may have figured out that Bush is going to win.' "
—Wall Street Journal, Sept. 15, 2004

Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
William Saletan is Slate's national correspondent and author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
That Was Fast
Krauthammer | Obama's change of heart on Iraq is stunningly cynical.
Dionne: He's Sincere About FaithGerson: And Savvy About It, Too
PLUS » Ann Telnaes: The Spirit of '76 (Updated)