re: He's from New Haven, Connecticut -- but that's okay . . .
He's American, so he must be a Texan, and so he must be a cowboy -- like all Americans.
As for France being a woman and Germany being a man, quite a reach. I knew the NYT went for creative writing, but was unaware that the IHT liked to propagate it. Sales must be slumping.
I think the troubles between France and the White House go a little deeper than Bernstein's guess.
Dan