I Love a Fierce Lady

...like Carla Bruni, First Lady of France and former model, who stumbled into the world of G-8 politics after marrying Nicholas Sarkozy last year. In a time of crotch-grabbing, mine-is-bigger-than-yours diplomacy, Madame Bruni is the ultimate status symbol for a relative newcomer to the world stage.

Of course, that one can easily find nude photos of France's first lady (artsy, fashionista ones, mind you) online, and the fact that she's quite candid about her love of powerful men, makes the "controversy" over Michelle Obama seem ridiculous. While we're fretting about Michelle's "patriotism," the French are buying up Carla Bruni's albums, which she records between vacations, social calls with the Queen of England and posing for the cover of Vanity Fair.

Could we handle such a pistol on this side of the Atlantic?

Seeing as the two most riveting women in our political system are in menopause and the press still attacks them mercilessly, it's safe to say probably not.