French Leader's Visit With Bush Signals Warming

"Mr. President, aren't you disappointed that -- "

"Never disappointed," Bush interrupted. "Always upbeat. Feeling good, feeling optimistic about life. Thank you. Thank you," Bush said. "Disappointed about what?"

The reporter finished the thought. "About Mrs. Sarkozy not coming?"

Bush immediately contradicted himself. "Of course we are," he said.

Then came a question about the state of U.S.-French relations, evoking a long and eloquent response from Sarkozy.

"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," said Sarkozy, who said he had recently read a biography of the Marquis de Lafayette that he intended to share with Bush.

"Do we agree on everything? No," Sarkozy continued. "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."

Bush tried to match the thought. "Beautiful. Thank you. We've got to go eat a hamburger."

Sarkozy may have been welcome in part because of the political parallel he represents: His victory in France indicated that an unpopular conservative could be succeeded by another conservative, even with a female opponent running in the campaign (sound familiar?). Sarkozy's triumph over Ségolène Royal heartened Republicans in the United States, who said it suggested that a Republican might be able to win in 2008 after all.

Still, Sarkozy has not weighed in on the U.S. elections -- even though he is vacationing in the first-in-the-nation primary state, a pastime often reserved for the candidates.

A colorful character who recently upbraided two photographers for chasing him down during his holiday, he has not met with any presidential candidates during his trip, and the campaigns have said there are no plans for such a rendezvous.

Bush, for his part, said he would consider vacationing abroad in France if Sarkozy were to invite him. In the meantime, he said he was looking forward to heading to Crawford, where his ranch vacation will begin Monday.

Might the president at least speak a few words of French, as a gesture toward the new U.S.-French thaw?

"No, I can't," Bush said. "I can barely speak English."