Could it be that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown borrowed a speech-writer from his French counterpart President Nicolas Sarkozy for the stirring address he delivered March 4 to the joint houses of Congress in Washington D.C.? Brown’s speech was unusually emotional for the strait-laced Scot. Just like Sarkozy, who spoke from the same podium on November 7, 2007, Brown started with a richly-deserved tribute to all the American soldiers who have fallen fighting for freedom.
In 2007, one of Sarkozy’s biggest applause lines went like this:
I want to express the deep, sincere gratitude of the French people. I want to tell you that whenever an American soldier falls somewhere in the world, I think of what the American army did for France. I think of them and I am sad, as one is sad to lose a member of one’s family.
Brown’s 2009 version:
Almost every family in Britain has a tie that binds them to America. So I want you to know that whenever a young American soldier or marine, sailor or airman is killed in conflict anywhere in the world, we, the people of Britain, grieve with you. Know that your loss is our loss, your families’ sorrow is our families’ sorrow . . .
It’s fine sentiment, but maybe it needs to be reworked by the next European leader to step up to the Congressional lectern. Some people actually remember these exaggerated oratorical flourishes.
