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The other day three of us went to lunch at the Café Deluxe, located in the shadow of Washington DC’s imposing National Cathedral. It was a bit of a sentimental meeting. Lingering over lunch with me was a relatively new friend (a desi who has lived in the States for over two decades) and my oldest American friend.

I first met my American friend at the National Cathedral School for Girls when we were 11. She divides her time between Paris and the States, and we were meeting after over a decade. The Indian American friend is a hardcore Democrat and is actively involved in fundraising for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and galvanising the Indian community to support her candidature for the President of the United States.

It wasn’t very long before the subject of the American elections came up. It all started with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s rogue teardrop, the one that launched thousands of votes for her in the recent New Hampshire primary after her bitter and unexpected defeat a few days earlier at the Iowa Caucus when Senator Barrack Obama romped home. Husband Bill’s eyes have on occasion got moist even when he was President, but the former First Lady has always been known for her steely resolve.

Thus, the tears in response to an innocuous question in a New Hampshire café shortly after her Iowa defeat became the stuff of headlines. And it was to the question: “How do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?” The teary eyes got continuous replay on cable television, 24/7. And women, feeling sorry for her, turned out in large numbers to assure her victory in the North Hampshire primary. Had Youtube.com tipped the balance? Perhaps, as my insider desi friend quipped, Clinton was just exhausted.

The American friend, more Gallic than Yankee, couldn’t stop commenting on how the much televised appearances of the contestants were getting to be like reality shows. The Oprahfication of the political landscape had begun. Clinton stopped by on supermodel Tyra Banks’ television show and had a chat about, amongst other things, how she handled her husband’s infidelity and the Monica Lewinsky episode. The two women, the supermodel and the Senator, even discussed reality shows. When asked which one she would prefer to be a contestant on, Clinton (who obviously has happy feet) said that she would prefer Dancing with the Stars to American Idol or America’s Next Top Model — Banks’ own show.

The conversation turned to the peccadilloes of politicians. My friend from across the Atlantic could not understand the hullabaloo over the indiscretions of political figures in this country. Bill Clinton faced impeachment, and many Congressmen have had to bow out in recent times when caught red-handed. Of course, earlier presidents like John F Kennedy got away because the media chose to look the other way.

Meanwhile, the French have admired the Casanova-like attributes of their presidents. When the car of former French President Valery Giscard d’Estang crashed into a milk van after a nocturnal assignation, his ratings soared. His successors Presidents Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac didn’t lose face over extracurricular activities.

But perhaps cold winds have begun to blow over the city of love — Paris, which according to a friend, is so romantic that “you could fall in love with a dog”. President Nicholas Sarkozy’s dizzy romance with Carla Bruni doesn’t have the French sighing: his popularity ratings have plunged even further. Those bridges of Paris have not lost their charm but massive unemployment, inflation and social unrest are making the French frown upon their President flaunting the object of his infatuation like a giddy teenager.

Will the French president and his mehbooba find the welcome mats laid out for them in India when they come visiting later this month? After all, France still spells romance for us.

Email: jain_madhu@hotmail.com