Nicolas Sarkozy's Private Dinner with the Obamas Hailed as 'Diplomatic Coup'
Obama and Sarkozy in Paris in 2008. Photograph: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: AFTER months of being cruelly snubbed, Nicolas Sarkozy’s ambitious dream of supplanting Britain as America’s best friend in Europe has come a step closer to reality with an invitation to a private dinner in the White House at the end of this month.
He and his wife Carla will have dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama in their private White House apartment. It is a rare honour for a visiting leader: Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, had to make do with chats in the Oval Office.
The hyperactive Sarkozy, whose enthusiasm for the glitzy side of politics has led to his being nicknamed “Sarko l’Américain”, is thrilled to be rubbing shoulders with the world’s most famous couple. Even before Obama was elected, the French leader had put his diplomatic service into overdrive to try to win favour with the new White House. >>> Matthew Campell in Paris | Sunday, March 07, 2010
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
États-Unis : Barack Obama offre à l’Inde la reconnaissance qu’elle attendait
Le premier ministre indien, Manmohan Singh, et le président Barack Obama. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Le président démocrate a reçu à la Maison-Blanche le premier ministre indien, Manmohan Singh, en visite d’Etat. Il a insisté sur le fait que l’Inde était «une démocratie multiethnique comme les Etats-Unis»
L’Inde ou la Chine? Entre ces deux grandes puissances émergentes, en partie rivales, les Etats-Unis donnaient l’impression d’avoir choisi. C’est en Chine que vient de se rendre Barack Obama, multipliant les révérences et évitant de hausser le ton sur les sujets qui fâchent. «Je vous présente Barack Obama, l’administrateur de nos compagnies de l’Ouest», disait un responsable chinois devant un Obama courbé jusqu’au sol, dans un dessin paru dans un journal de Pittsburgh et aussitôt reproduit dans la presse nationale.
Ce ne sont pas seulement les Américains qui ont pris ombrage de la «servilité» de leur président à l’égard d’une Chine qui tient les Etats-Unis par les cordons de la bourse. A travers toutes sortes de canaux, les Indiens, eux aussi, ont fait connaître leur embarras. L’Inde a vécu une lune de miel avec le prédécesseur d’Obama, George Bush, qui a atteint son apogée peu avant la passation de pouvoir, avec la signature d’un accord entre les deux pays en matière de technologie nucléaire. >>> Luis Lema | Mercredi 25 Novembre 2009
A Place at the State Dinner Table
ADVOCATE.COM: Several prominent gay men and lesbians were among those at the White House Tuesday night for President and Mrs. Obama’s first state dinner, held in honor of India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur. Among those on the 338-person guest list were movie producer David Geffen and his partner, Jeremy Lingvall; longtime activist Urvashi Vaid and her partner, comedian Kate Clinton; Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his partner, Sean Eldridge; and chair of the U.S. Export-Import Bank Fred Hochberg and his partner, Thomas Healy.
State dinners are traditionally held in the state White House’s State Dining Room, but this one was held in a tent outside the White House, complete with chandeliers and views of both the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Because Manmohan Singh and his wife are vegetarians, the menu was completely meat free. >>> Advocate.com Editors | Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Obama State Dinner: A Sampling of Guests
President Obama Toasts the Future at White House State Dinner
Monday, October 05, 2009
Obama to Speak at LGBT Rights Dinner
abcNEWS: President Obama will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
“We are honored to share this night with President Obama, who has called upon our nation to embrace LGBT people as brothers and sisters,” The Human Rights Campaign President, Joel Solmonese, said in an announcement today.
The dinner precedes a scheduled march on Washington by the LGBT community to take place on Sunday. The march was largely organized to draw attention to the administration’s lack on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” and the Defense of Marriage Act, among other gay rights issues.
Many leaders in the LGBT community are hoping Obama will use the platform as an opportunity to re-establish his position as a “fierce advocate” for gay rights that he solidified on the campaign trail.
White House aides say that the President has not yet written his remarks, and did not give guidance if the President will reveal any new policy.
National Security Jin Jones this weekend said that at the right time the President will deal with these issues, such as DADT – among others.
“The President has an awful lot on his desk. I know this is an issue he intends to take on at the appropriate time,” Jones told CNN.
While the gay community waits for the “appropriate time” after dedicating themselves to Obama’s campaign, discontent has continued to grow in light of the little progress that has been made since Obama took office in January.
Obama’s address on Saturday will be an historic one—as only the second sitting President ever to address a Gay rights organization. President Clinton was the first in 1997. >>> Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent | Monday, October 05, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys.
President Obama’s reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D-Day anniversary has come as an embarrassment to the Elysée Palace.
America’s First Family will not be dining with President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, even though they are staying at the residence of the US Ambassador, yards from the Elysée apartments where the Sarkozys spend their weekends. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris | Friday, June 05, 2009
