Bush’s New Start with an Old Friend

By Jane Hampton Cook 

On the same weekend President George W. Bush welcomed new French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the United States, I was doing what many American women don't have time to do during the week. I took a quick moment to visit a beauty shop, or salon, I should say.

Not long after the two leaders shared a meal of hotdogs and hamburgers at the longtime Bush family get-a-way in Kennebunkport, Maine, I met a true blue Franco-American. Her French accent made her stand out among the French manicures offered at the salon. Marie’s immigration story was not unusual. She first came to the United States as a tourist. She liked it so much she looked for work here and got a Green Card. Then she married an American and had a daughter. She obviously held sentimental regard for France, but America had been quite good to her. However, it was quickly apparent the frosty French-American relations over Iraq had been a little difficult on her. She had been reminded a thousand times by her fellow Americans how much France owed the United States for rescuing her from Germany during World War II. So, I tried to say something encouraging.

“America couldn’t have won the Revolutionary War without France,” I said.

“Thank you,” Marie said with relief and surprise. She explained I was the first person who had said that to her.

It’s true. America couldn’t have secured independence from Britain without the support of France. King Louis XVI’s official recognition of American independence in 1778 made King George III quake in his English riding boots. His trembling could be felt across the English Channel. King George was simply shocked that a monarchy like France would support a revolution against a fellow monarchy. But support France did. King Louis XVI sent money, men, and munitions to America. The final victory at Yorktown came through the cooperation of American and French soldiers.

One of the Revolution’s best and most enthusiastic generals was a Frenchman. The Marquis de Lafayette left behind his wife and child and paid his own way to join the Continental Army. Lafayette’s youthful exuberance for American independence, something he called the “final struggle of liberty,” won George Washington’s heart. When Washington first showed Lafayette the rag-tag American army, he was surprised at the Frenchmen’s response. He expected Lafayette, a member of France’s prestigious Black Musketeers, to offer suggestions for improvement. Instead, Lafayette replied, “I have come to learn, not teach.”  Later, when Lafayette was wounded in battle, Washington asked the attending physician to keep a close eye on the young man because he “loved him like a son.”

When Americans talk of friendship with France, it’s understandable that they turn to World War II. Friends and family members keep the memories alive (including my 83-year-old neighbor who landed at Normandy on D-Day). Although the American Revolution is sometimes as removed from our memory as the British flag is from our shores, there’s a reason why America needs to nurture its friendship with nations like France during this time of terrorism. You never know what the future holds. It’s vital to strengthen our friendships after a time of testing over disagreements, especially the ones built on the mutual cause of liberty.

Friendship is usually a bond between people with common interests and like-minded values. Friends are chums, comrades, cronies, and confidants. A strong friendship includes enough sugar to keep the relationship sweet with a small amount of salt to make it interesting. A friend is often someone we know, like, and trust. Pennsylvania founder William Penn put it this way: “Friends are true twins in soul.”

But friendships forged in freedom are different from ordinary ones. They aren’t based on a mutual enjoyment of something fun, such as fantasy football. Alliances, such as France and America in the 1770s, are often unlikely. These friendships are crucial for overturning tyranny and fighting terrorism, democracy’s nemesis. More than most friendships, freedom friendships endure tremendous tests of loyalty, culture, and betrayals. They sometimes require extreme makeovers. But if these relationships survive, the resulting bonds strengthen, not weaken, the edifice of liberty.

As Marie’s story shows, there’s no doubt the frustrations with the French government over the past few years have tested, but not erased, the overall friendship between the United States and France.

“I respect the French people, I respect the history of France. We have had disagreements -- on Iraq, in particular -- but I've never allowed disagreements to not find other ways to work together,” President Bush told the members of the media before his lunch with Sarkozy. He hoped the pair would have a “heart-to-heart” talk.

President Bush has a fresh start with an old friend. The new French president may unravel the Chirac-inspired French twist. In that same media moment, Sarkozy explained he had just finished reading a biography on Lafayette and praised the 250-year-old friendship between the nations.

“The U.S. is a large, big democracy. It's a country of freedom and it's a country that we've always admired because it's the country that brought a constitution and freedom to the world. And France is friends with democracies, not with dictatorships. Do we agree on everything? No. Because maybe even within a family there are disagreements, but we are still a family. And we may be friends and not agree on everything, but we are friends, nevertheless. That's the truth,” Sarkozy said.

President Bush may have more success with President Sarkozy, whose policies are less liberal and his personality more amiable than his predecessor. Bush and Sarkozy have serious issues to discuss, especially the growing threat of Iran. But both leaders understand the truth about freedom. Freedom flourishes best when leaders lead for a short time. Free elections and the peaceful transition of power are what make freedom strong.

“Afterwards we, the French, were involved in the war (World War II)-- the West were on our side,” Sarkozy said. “And on the East Coast (of France), we see a lot of cemeteries with small white crosses -- on the French coast -- and those are young Americans who came to die for us. And that is a lot more important than Mr. Sarkozy or Mr. Bush, because after Mr. Bush, after Mr. Sarkozy, we'll continue to be friends of the Americans.”