A French correspondent writes in the NYT:

":...Envy is a complex passion. It engenders both love and hate. Many French intellectuals hate Barack Obama because they feel that too many people adore him, and with too much ardor. But by and large, the optimism and excitement that the majority of French people felt during Mr. Obama's presidential campaign and at the moment he was elected have not diminished.

We had a chance to appreciate Mr. Obama's spirit of cooperation with Europe at the G-20 summit meeting. It came almost as a surprise, for we are no longer accustomed to such things after years of George W. Bush's isolationism. Mr. Obama's position on Iran has provoked a more-than-favorable reaction all across Europe, and particularly in France, and nothing seems to be clouding the blue skies of the old continent's love story with President Obama. Mr. Obama's anger is portrayed here as something holy. And when he laughs, we laugh.

When our president, Nicolas Sarkozy, gets angry, on the other hand, we laugh. When he laughs, we wonder why. We feel that Mr. Obama confers dignity on his country and its people. We, too, would sorely like to feel dignified."