Posted on 09/20/2004 10:53:26 AM PDT by In The Defense of Liberty
Let us not forget Kerry's 'roots' and where his devotion will likely lie if, God forbid, he should win. Remind your friends of Kerry's strong "French Connection", particularly those who may be 'on the fence' over Bush vs Kerry!
FRENCH TOWN TURNS EYES TO AMERICAN COUSIN - JOHN KERRY
This small seaside resort in northwest France has had its eyes turned toward America ever since John Kerry, who spent part of his childhood here, became a serious candidate for the US presidency.
The mayor's automobile has a Kerry bumper sticker, which is hardly surprising in view of the fact that the mayor, Brice Lalonde, is Kerry's cousin.
Kerry and Lalonde, France's former environment minister are the sons of sisters from the wealthy American Forbes family. A large property here called "Les Essarts" has belonged to the family since the beginning of the last century.
Kerry's mother was one of 11 siblings who spent much of her youth at this estate and Kerry, who was sent for a time to boarding school in Switzerland, often came to pass summer vacations in Saint-Briac, where Lalonde also came with his branch of the family.
Now it seems as if the entire Brittany town of 2,000 inhabitants is talking about the "American cousin" and what effect his possible election might have here. At the Cafe de la Mairie, patrons joke about big black American government limousines getting stuck in the narrow streets of this former fishing village. Actually, Kerry hasn't been back here for several years and there is nothing to indicate he plans to come any time soon. Nevertheless, Claudine Chatrier, a customer at the cafe says, "if he is elected, it will already be for the better. He is a real democrat..."
Eric Leveque, head of the tourist office, says the phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from people wanting to rent rooms. "It's the Kerry effect, I'm sure," he said.
And of course, a stream of journalists has arrived in search of Kerry's roots. Lalonde, switching back and forth from French to English, tells reporters that the Forbes cousins, about 50 of them scattered around the world, keep in touch via a family newsletter. Lalonde tells people not to get too excited that Kerry might come here. "There are plenty of cousins in countries other than France," he said. Lalonde can still remember his, and Kerry's, grandmother riding around Saint-Briac on horseback with her daughters at her side. A Saint-Briac native, Marie-Therese Civetta, 79, recalls that "grandmother Forbes" used to feed all the cats in town.
Civetta and her friend Simone Lelualt, 77, have been much in demand by a crew from the ABC television network, which has been scouting for local color. They appear in a classic picture of the liberation of Saint-Briac on August 14, 1944, dancing around a US soldier who is hugging a young girl dressed in white. No one knows what happened to the soldier in the confusion of war, nor to the young girl, who was probably a refugee from the fighting.
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And from: http://www.adetocqueville.com/cgi-binloc/searchTTC.cgi?displayZop+15146
FORMER FRENCH MINISTER BACKS COUSIN KERRY FOR US PRESIDENT
Former French environment minister Brice Lalonde on Wednesday said he was backing his first cousin US Senator John Kerry in his bid to take the Democratic presidential nomination.
"My cousin's a nice guy, I'd like him to win," Lalonde told AFP. "We saw each other six months ago and even then I was hoping he would be in the running and take the top job."
Lalonde, who served in France's Socialist government of 1988-91 and was the founder of one of France's green parties, Generation Ecologie, on Tuesday revealed that he and Kerry were related.
"Our two mums were sisters, from a family that during the (Second World) war spread out and dispersed to the five continents," he told Europe 1 radio.
Lalonde said he plans to attend the Democrats' convention in Boston in July, at which the official candidate will be announced.
Kerry moved a step closer to the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday with a convincing win in the New Hampshire primary.
But observers said he has not yet delivered a knockout blow to his rivals.
I believe his dad's family were Czech Jews who converted to Christianity. Have we ever had a presidental candidate whose forbears were Jewish? Anyone know?
Most likely not -- but we might have, if the Dems had been smart enough, and conservative enough to run Leiberman.
From HERE.
KERRY TOO 'FRENCH' TO SWAY 'ADOLESCENT' AMERICANS: CONSULTANT
US presidential hopeful John Kerry needs to stop acting so French if he wants to win the race for the White House, a French-born, US-based consultant and "medical anthropologist" says.
"Kerry's trouble is that he is simply not the common man," Clotaire Rapaille, who's been contacted by Kerry's campaign team for advice, told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
In the wake of the US-led war on Iraq, which France opposed, the Democratic hopeful's command of the French language, plus his background in France and Switzerland, could be a real liability among US voters, he said.
.....
Rapaille, author of the forthcoming book "Archetypes of the President," specialises in psychoanalysing cultures. His expertise is sought out by major US corporations, and he's often interviewed in US media on mass culture.
Besides dropping the French connection, Rapaille suggested that Kerry take fewer holidays, start giving "one word or two" answers to questions -- and do something about his wardrobe.
"Go to K-Mart, buy jeans and cowboy boots... Dress like you are going into a bar in Kansas to drink from the bottle," he said.
ping
Barry Goldwater's paternal ancestors were Jewish (the name was originally Goldwasser), but he was a Christian (Episcopalian, I think) by religion.
many thanks....
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