Bush plays host to French president, dinner for 135

by Mark Silva

They are not serving “freedom fries’’ tonight at the White House, where President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush are playing host to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The two presidents will meet officially tomorrow and hold a press conference together at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington -- that other "George W,'' Bush noted tonight.

But tonight, it’s dinner and entertainment for the first official visit of the recently elected French president – who already shares a much warmer relationship with the Bushes than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, an outspoken opponent of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, had enjoyed. The two first met while Bush was in Europe this year, and Bush had Sarkozy over for a cookout at the Bush family oceanfront compound in Kennebunkport, Me.

The band played "I Could Have Danced All Night'' before the toasts. And Sarkozy, with his, said he had come "to reconquer the heart of America.''

(Sarkozy, too, considers the Iraq war a mistake, but they have gotten beyond that. Bush also will play host to another European leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at his Texas ranch this weekend -- Merkel, too, forging a much closer relationship than Bush had with her predecessor, and outspoken war-critic, ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.)

The president is serving the president Maine Lobster Bisque with vermouth cream and a 2004 Carneros Chardonnay by HDV; Elysian farm lamb with heirloom tomato fondue, ragout of green beans, chantrelles and caramelized shallots and sweet potato casserole, washed down with a 2004 Napa Valley Dominus. There will be a salad of white and green asparagus, peppercress and mâche, with wite balsamic vinaigrette.

The bubbly sounds extra special, if Californian – Chandon’s “La Fayette’s Legacy’’ rose. (Though we haven’t found this label at Chandon’s Web-site, so one wonders if the kitchen has slapped a house label on the bottle in honor of the guest. At Mount Vernon tomorrow, Sarkozy is expected to pay tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette, “adopted son’’ of first president of the United States.)

Vice President Dick Cheney will be there, after a not-so-hard day fighting impeachment (Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s failed articles of impeachment have been sent to committee for a long rest.) So will Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Tom Glavine will be there, representing Major League Baseball. The chairman and CEO of IBM, Samuel Palmisano will be there, along with many other businessmen, including Mark Guzzetta, a major Republican Party fundraiser from Florida, past and president members of Congress, including retired Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming – and dozens of other invited guests and their spouses.

And the White House will seat a couple of reporters at the social dinner in the state dining room: veteran White House correspondent Bill Plante of CBS News and the French-speaking White House correspondent for Agence France-Presse, Olivier Knox.

For more on the toasts:

"Bienvenue a la Maison Blanche," Bush said to his guest tonight, noting that in 1777 another George W. welcomed the Marquis de Lafayette to Washington, and "now we are honoring the legacy of Lafayette in helping other nations defend against tyranny."

Bush stressed what the French and U.S. have in common -- the E.U.--supported military miission in Afghanistan, the support of democracy in Lebanon and the condemnation of human rights violations in Darfur and Burma.

Sarkozy said he had come with a simple message: "To reconquer the heart of America in a lasting fashion." Sarkozy hailed the Americans who perished in France during World War Ii and he joked that he has proven that one can "be a friend of America and win election in France!"

Sarkozy also spoke of Lafayette, and how President John Quincy Adams had invited him to the White House on Lafayette's 66th birthday. Adams had suggested a toast to Feb. 22 and to Sept. 6 (Lafayette's birthday). Lafayette proposed instead a toast to July 4, "the day liberty was born."

In conclusion, Sarkozy said with his toast: "Long live Franco-American friendship, vive America, vive la France."