sacrebleu

This article on the French predilection for conspiracy doesn't really hit home based on my discussions with French people I work with. The whole DSK conspiracy was explained to me this way.

Sarkozy = Bush
DSK = Obama

The French apparently hate Sarkozy. His approval rating is 21%. He apparently is as dumb as Bush. A big problem with the French. He is considered ham-fisted and apparently overly concerned about his appearance and height. And he can't talk apparently. DSK on the other hand is considered an intellectual. He's a professor. He speaks well.

Imagine if Obama was caught during the primaries in a similar situation. I would argue that half the country would think it was a conspiracy. It certainly is the type of situation that could be framed easily. It's not like a moon landing conspiracy that would required thousands of people to be paid off. It would only require a few.

Now I don't think it is a conspiracy but it's a little unfair to the French to paint this as part of their national psyche. Especially when America seems to have a corner on conspiracies from Roswell to 9/11 to JFK to Birtherism to the Philadelphia Experiment to ...