Hollande, Sarkozy Bask in the Adulation of Thousands

Mass political meetings always give me the willies. I keep waiting for forearms to be extended toward the leader in a stiff-armed salute. But the ability to turn out a large crowd seems to be a prerequisite of the job, so after Mélenchon in Marseille, we now have Sarkozy at Concorde and Hollande at Vincennes showing that they, too, can play the big numbers game. Meanwhile, Bayrou chose to stage his last rally in Marseille, on the same ground hallowed by Mélenchon yesterday--perhaps not the best move, as comparisons will be inevitable.