When I was in Germany to cover their elections back in 2005, I shopped a column idea that suggested that the difficulties Angela Merkel had in “sealing the deal” — her party blew a big lead in the run-up to those elections – suggested a bad omen for Hillary Clinton. In terms of women’s roles, Germany is fairly traditional for Europe, and might be comparable to the United States’ views come 2008. Some editor told me he thought it was a stretch.

I wonder if we’ll see the same thing regarding the French elections, where Ségolène Royal lost to Sarkozy pretty decisively. The New York Sun sees a signal:

In any event, the accession of Nicolas Sarkozy can only be good for America and those who are appearing in arms in our and freedom’s cause – and a source of encouragement for Republicans anxious about America’s 2008 election. In some precincts here, Segolene Royal was given the hyphenated first name of Segolene-Hillary-Barack and the hyphenated last name of Kerry-Royal.