I have not yet seen this posted---Obama endorsed by French Socialist Party:
PARIS: The head of France's opposition Socialist Party strongly endorsed U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and said Sunday that an Obama victory would be "good news" for the United States and the world.
Francois Hollande said an Obama presidency would usher in a positive, new chapter in international relations.
"We need an Obama victory next November," Hollande told party supporters at an annual meeting in the Atlantic coastal city of La Rochelle. An Obama win "will be good news, not only for the American people, but for the whole world."
Hollande cited Obama's position on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his apparent willingness to reach out to international partners under a "new diplomacy," as reasons to support the candidate.
Hollande promised to work for the senator's victory, but acknowledged that the French Socialists' endorsement could end up tarnishing Obama's image in the eyes of the American electorate, given the way some voters regard socialism.
During a brief visit to France in July, Obama met with conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy but not with opposition Socialists. Sarkozy also received Republican presidential hopeful, Arizona Sen. John McCain, in Paris
in March.
Relations between the United States and France became strained under Sarkozy's predecessor, fellow conservative Jacques Chirac, who led France's vociferous opposition to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Relations between the two countries have steadily improved since last year's election of pro-American Sarkozy.
iht.com |
