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As the U.S. election race heats up, blogger Pamela Poole says Parisians are enjoying the spectacle, finding it simultaneously entertaining and horrifying. AFP/Getty Images
Both Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama hope to be returned to their respective presidencies for second terms this year. Getty Images
The French feel a strong political kinship with the U.S. because the countries fanned each other's revolutionary flames, says writer Pamela Poole. AFP/Getty Images
Thousands gathered to welcome Barack Obama to Paris in 2008, and that was before he was elected president. AFP/Getty Images
Thousands of Parisians had previously taken to the streets to protest wars started by Obama's much less popular predecessor, George W. Bush. Getty Images
France, which is preparing for presidential elections in April, has limits on campaign expenditures -- which might explain the ugly posters. AFP/Getty Images
Marine Le Pen's National Front, a controversial far right party, hopes Europe's financial woes will lead to a big showing for the French nationalist party at the polls. Getty Images
After years of the stuffy Jacques Chirac, the French elected the fresher Sarkozy as president -- but Obama remains a step above, and not only in "coolitude." AFP/Getty Images
The French people and media get a kick out of seeing Obama's laid back demeanor, his hipness, and yes, his impromptu duets with B.B. King. AFP/Getty Images
Republican candidate Mitt Romney speaks French, but it's one of the last things you'll hear him talk about on the campaign trail. AFP/Getty Images
