Apparently Marco Rubio doesn’t show up at the Senate much. Me neither, but nobody elected me Senator. Rubio asked to be elected, so the fact that he doesn’t turn up much is noteworthy.

Noteworthy? So noted! His opponents in the Republican presidential race have noted it, as have some media.

Famed boob and short-fingered vulgarian Donald Trump has been striking that note hard, calling Rubio “a lightweight Senator with the worst voting record in the Senate. Lazy!” Easy for him to judge, since he’s never held political office.

Clan Bush is on it.

 

Jeb Bush, Jr., folksily told some college Republicans that “As a Floridian, I’m a little disappointed, because he’s missing, like, 35 percent of his votes. And it’s just, kind of, like, dude, you know, either drop out or do something. We’re paying you to do something, it ain’t run for president.”

Jeb Bush the elder, coincidentally running for the Republication presidential nomination, hinted that certain unnamed senators who don’t show up should have their pay cut.

Maybe that went over well, because then he got bolder and got specific. During the October 28th Republican debate, Bush marveled at Rubio’s not “showing up to work,” saying scornfully of the Senate, “I mean, literally, the Senate, what is it, like a French workweek? You get like three days where you have to show up?”

Showing that Bush has never held a job in France. Where he would have to show up five days a week. Also showing an annoying ignorance about the role of France in US history.

The French Ambassador to Washington, Gérard Araud, responded with actual facts about hours worked in France, which he compared to hours worked in Germany (more in France, by a whole 18 minutes).

“A French work week of 3 days? No but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it” he tweeted, with what the New York Times described as “Gallic defiance.”

At first the Bush campaign stuck to their line. Communications manager Tim Miller snarked, “Not too concerned about attacks from the French media. Jeb’s working far more than 40 hours a week!” (Note – attacking the French and the media! Win-win, right?)

Apparently the public failed to respond to the tired, stupid let’s-make-fun-of-the-French ploy. Perhaps some people pointed out that this didn’t seem like presidential-level foreign policy skills. Jeb apologized. Chuckling as he did so.

I really did a disservice to the French. I now know that the average French workweek is actually greater than the German workweek. So, my God, I totally insulted an entire country – our first ally – that helped us become free as a nation. And I apologize. That did a huge disservice to France. It didn’t really get to the magnitude of the problem: Three-day work week.

Would have been a decent apology if not for the giggling and taking another potshot at Rubio.

Ambassador Araud gracefully tweeted “Everything is forgotten and forgiven,” which sounds great.

He then added “Errare humanum.” You know, “To err is human.” Which might be kind of a dig, what with the Latin and the unspoken followup. “To forgive is divine.” Shucks. I dunno. Ain’t.

Dudes? Whattya think? Is he still mad?