The American view that the French are wimps is ugly and undeserved but widely held, so French President Sarkozy’s statement implying that President Obama is one gets our attention. Apparently Obama didn’t want Sarkozy to upstage him at the UN in September. The result:

Sarkozy was so annoyed with Obama’s weak-kneed approach that he reportedly told Le Monde that “we live in the real world, not in a virtual one”, a cutting and mocking reference to the US president’s drive for a new arms control treaty.

More from the Wall Street Journal

President Sarkozy in particular pushed hard. He had been “frustrated” for months about Mr. Obama’s reluctance to confront Iran, a senior French government official told us, and saw an opportunity to change momentum. But the Administration told the French that it didn’t want to “spoil the image of success” for Mr. Obama’s debut at the U.N. and his homily calling for a world without nuclear weapons, according to the Paris daily Le Monde.

None of this is a surprise: Obama is desperate for something to salvage his failing presidency, so appearing like the world leader is vital for domestic consumption, even if there was nothing of substance in his speech. Obama’s liberal. “let’s sit down and talk” tendencies though are running up against an increasingly conservative and impatient Europe. While our allies may have initially hailed Obama’s desire to re-invent American foreign policy, he may end up looking to the Europeans like John Wayne riding in on a saddle, ordering the regular folk about so he can take on the bad guys. The only problem is the cowboy’s guns are unloaded. How long will it be before they wish for the return of “cowboy” George Bush?

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