President Nicolas Sarkozy's speech to the Joint Session of Congress, November 7

I will get this out of the way first: The transcripts of President Sarkozy's speech I've found thus far on the internet (at Real Clear Politics and NY Sun, which seem to have the same transcript) are incomplete. I have not done a word-for-word comparison but I immediately caught one glaring omission, which I highlight in brackets here:

My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the West and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway. By John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth. And by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind's oldest dream. [On the day when Americans walked on the moon, that day America was universal. And each of us wants to be part of that great adventure.]

What was so extraordinary for us was that through her literature, her cinema and her music, America always seemed to emerge from adversity even greater and stronger; that instead of causing America to doubt herself, such ordeals only strengthened her belief in her values.

So I advise that you visit C-SPAN if you want to be assured of taking in the entire speech.

The above observations are typical Pundita; nothing is easier for me than to spot errors and omissions, and my highly discursive mind allows me to easily write pages of analysis and criticism. But when it comes to speaking of my true feelings it can take days of painful attempts to squeeze out a few words.

So I did not notice at first that my hand kept brushing my face during Sarkozy's speech. When I realized that I was brushing away tears I could return to full focus on Sarkozy's words only by scolding myself with the thought: 'This is historic. Pay attention.'

After the speech was over, more tears came as I realized that over the seemingly endless decades of the Cold War and the two decades of my personal war I had become a brittle person.

I will not be tedious and pose questions about some of the points made by Sarkozy. Now is not the correct time. I will only say thank you to France's president for honoring America, for bringing in a new era in France's relations with America, and for prompting me to remember that I have a heart.