American and French relationship is not exactly at an all-time high. We call them "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" and change the name of French fries, they lampoon our waistlines, close-mindedness, and boorishness. Oh, why can't we all just get along!

Of course, it wasn't always like that. The French, led by General Lafayette, made a great contribution to the young American nation. Even this past century, from the Lost Generation days of Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein to World War II to the music of Joe Dassin, the connection had been tight.

What? You don't know who Joe Dassin was? Then you're obviously American!

Dassin was a musician who topped the French charts in the 60s and 70s. But he wasn't French at all, he was a Brooklyn-born Jew, Joseph Ira Dassin. He made his way to France in the 50s, winning the hearts of his newly-minted countrymen with his voice.

Dassin passed away from a heart attack in 1980, and, coincidentally or not, American-French relations have not recovered. Maybe what we need is a young French Jew to come our way and capture America's hearts? That seems possible, doesn't it?

Pourquoi pas?