Seeking Harbingers (George Will on Nicholas Sarkozy)

Townhall.com ^ | August 26, 2007 | George Will

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PARIS -- French libraries are said to file their nation's constitutions -- there have been more than a dozen since 1789; the current one is a relatively ancient 49 years old -- under periodicals. Now Nicolas Sarkozy, France's peripatetic new president, has created a commission on constitutional reform. The commission includes Jack Lang who, as minister of culture in 1983 under President Francois Mitterrand, staged a sublimely unserious conference on the (supposed) world economic crisis, featuring the likes of Sophia Loren, Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

France PING!

[ansel12]

“French libraries are said to file their nation’s constitutions — there have been more than a dozen since 1789”

Off topic, but why do writers do that, “there have been more than a dozen since 1789” why not just use the actual number?

[BfloGuy]

I think Will is a trifle hard on Sarkozy. He is not a dyed-in-the-wool free-marketer but he has proposed some serious supply-side solutions to France's sclerotic economy and appears to want to bring France into a friendly relationship with the U.S..

All in all, quite an improvement -- for France and for us.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

"Off topic, but why do writers do that, “there have been more than a dozen since 1789” why not just use the actual number?"

I'm going to hazard a guess -- the majority don't know what the actual number is. Most of them are too lazy to do any research on the topic. Scores of others just don't think precision matters. (irony intended)

[billorites]

"I think Will is a trifle hard on Sarkozy"

I don't think George is getting any.

Perhaps if his loosens his tie,

gets rid of those egghead round eyeglasses,

and tries to adopt a more conciliatory and positive attitude...

then he might get laid before the beginning of the next century.

Time's growing short.

[ansel12]

“Scores of others just don’t think precision matters. (irony intended)”

LOL

[SunkenCiv]

Nicolas Sarkozy, France's peripatetic new president...

"George Will is a blowhard" ping.