PARIS—Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a longtime humanitarian, diplomatic and political activist on the international scene, says that whoever succeeds President George W. Bush will be “at the helm of a sinking vessel.” He said the United States' battered image had suffered irreparable damage and "the magic is over."
In a wide-ranging conversation with the editor of Le Scat Noir, Kouchner vented his frustration in a string of clichés and mixed metaphors: “The thrill is gone. Kaput. America is an empty shell—a mere shadow of its former self. A land of has-beens and hacks. It’s a shopworn relic, the ghost of an Imperialist empire. What was once a vast, complex canvas filled with bright colors and hidden meanings is now simply a blank slate. Tabula rasa. Zip. Zero. Nada. America is a banana republic and Europe has stopped slipping on its peel. The joke is over, the gig is up. The gag has no punch line. The joke is stale, so to speak.
In a wide-ranging conversation with the editor of Le Scat Noir, Kouchner vented his frustration in a string of clichés and mixed metaphors: “The thrill is gone. Kaput. America is an empty shell—a mere shadow of its former self. A land of has-beens and hacks. It’s a shopworn relic, the ghost of an Imperialist empire. What was once a vast, complex canvas filled with bright colors and hidden meanings is now simply a blank slate. Tabula rasa. Zip. Zero. Nada. America is a banana republic and Europe has stopped slipping on its peel. The joke is over, the gig is up. The gag has no punch line. The joke is stale, so to speak.
"America has nothing up its sleeves to dazzle us. Alas, Jerry Lewis is dead... he is dead isn't he?”
Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency Kouchner smiled, "Not in a thousand years."
Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency Kouchner smiled, "Not in a thousand years."
