In the Arena

Wouldn’t it be great…

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…if we could do something like this?.

I know Kouchner and he is just first-rate. But the striking thing about this is what is says about Sarkozy, who is willing to appoint someone to his inner circle who disagrees with him and is willing to say so. Listen to Kouchner about his agreements and disagreements with the new boss:

“On Turkey, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the third world and Africa, we’re not close,” Mr. Kouchner acknowledged in a telephone interview. “I’m against his idea of selective immigration. On other issues — the Middle East, on the need for an alliance with America, on the role of France in Europe — we’re very close.”

After the hyperpartisanship of the Bush presidency, the need for a foreign policy team that can reach consensus despite differing views–and composed of Democrats and Republicans, as John Kennedy’s team was–seems absolutely mandatory.