Here's a Fox News alert Senator Kerry....
Posted on 01/14/2005 1:46:00 PM PST by AllTheRage
Kerry Tries to Improve U.S.-France Ties
1 hour, 40 minutes ago
By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
PARIS - Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites)'s French connection was treated as a liability during his bid for the U.S. presidency. On Friday, he used his popularity here to try to help rebuild strained ties between Paris and Washington, and expressed confidence that would happen.
AP Photo
The Massachusetts Democrat was in Paris at the close of a tour of Europe and the Middle East that included trips to Iraq (news - web sites), Syria, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank.
In a more than 45-minute meeting with President Jacques Chirac, the former presidential candidate discussed frayed relations between France and the United States.
"I'm convinced there's an opportunity here to bring that relationship closer," he said.
He and Chirac discussed Iraq, Iran and the Middle East peace process, Kerry told reporters.
"Succeeding in Iraq and winning the war on terror will take a global effort, and I have conveyed that in my meetings with heads of state in the Middle East and Europe," Kerry said in a statement. "We all have a stake in the outcome of Iraq, and I believe they have a responsibility to do more."
"This has been a good trip. It was very important for me personally to thank our brave men and women in uniform for their service and assess the situation in Iraq," said Kerry who visited U.S. forces in the volatile northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Kerry, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, forecast a meeting between Chirac and Bush. "I hope President Bush (news - web sites) will have an opportunity to meet the president," he told reporters. "I'm confident that will happen, not just the meeting but the movement in the right direction."
Kerry spoke English during the meeting and Chirac spoke French, presidential spokesman Jerome Bonnafont said. Kerry, accompanied by his daughter Vanessa, declined to speak in French to reporters, saying it was rusty.
Kerry has a Gallic clan in Saint-Briac-Sur-Mer, in western France, including cousin Brice Lalonde, a former environmental minister. As a boy, Kerry spent summers there. However, the relatives kept a low profile during the campaign so as not to spoil his chances.
France's adamant opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq left ties between Paris and Washington in tatters, and put France-bashing in vogue in the United States.
Kerry has a high sympathy rating in France where polls ahead of the U.S. election showed that he would have won by a landslide if the French could vote.
Kerry's meeting with Chirac came hours after talks in London with British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) on the prospect of peace in the Middle East. He met Thursday with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
With the Jan. 30 Iraq elections on the horizon and the election of a new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, still fresh, Kerry's Middle East tour came at a critical time.
Kerry said he and Chirac "talked about efforts we can make, all of us together, to try to guarantee the success of all our interests in the Middle East, which are very, very significant."
In London, he told reporters the elections in Iraq were "one marker" on the road to democracy, but are not the ultimate goal.
In a remark that the French would appreciate, Kerry added: "I believe there needs to be a larger political reconciliation, as well as a broader involvement of other countries in decision-making in order to build a greater stability in Iraq."
Paris is trying to raise its profile on Iraq and make room for a French role. Severely strained ties between Paris and Washington over France's hard-line stance against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq have limited the French voice. Chirac met here Thursday with Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al-Yawer.
Oh my... I'm laughing so hard, Im crying....
lol
Here's a Fox News alert Senator Kerry....
Me too. This is beyond surreal.
Hey, John, it must be good to be someplace where you are loved.
thats great!
Why does he keep pretending to be President?
My favoriteweb site:
http://www.bushwonmoveon.com/
And who paid for this whirlwind trip of his? It was us, of course. We funded his efforts to undermine America on this trip. Also - I'll bet you anything that there were a few times during this trip, especially while meeting with these Euro-weenies, that he was pretending he was President.
Kery can talk till he is blue in the face but the fact is he is not President and therefore has no authority or clout so he might as well just come on back to the USA and go snowboarding..or play football, or crawl around in his aqua suit, or play the guitar, or pop soccer balls with his head, or go windsurfing or fly off to one of the mansions he and Teresa own or whatever else that idiot does. Guess if you can't be elected President play make believe.
Kerry should work on improving his ties with the 53% who didn't vote for him...
Why? What could we possibly get out of it?
[snickering outloud]
LMAOPMP! He thinks he's President! My stomach hurts from laughing!
Actually he's earning points for his re-run in 08.
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