NY Times Admits: New French Socialist Prez's Policies are a 'Better Fit' for the U.S. Because...

They're words that have to be read to be believed.

In a news article in the New York Times, the paper suggests that newly-elected Socialist President Francois Hollande and his economic polices are likely a "better fit" for the U.S. economic positions (i.e. the new president's policies are more palatable to the Obama administration than outgoing President Sarkozy). It then goes on to lay out how the Socialist and Barack Obama are ideologically linked.

"With the victory of the Socialist candidate, François Hollande, in the French presidential election," the article begins, "the White House has lost one of its closest allies on the Continent, but perhaps gained one with economic policy beliefs more closely aligned with its own."

Then the article goes on to lay out its case: Hollande is against austerity, Obama is against austerity; Hollande believes in government spending its way out of recession, Obama believes in government spending its way out of recession.

These quotes in the Times article are clear:

• "...[T]he White House objects to [austerity] on the grounds that cutting budgets too soon will lead to sluggish growth and high unemployment across Europe without satisfying the demands of skittish bond investors. Mr. Hollande ... ran on a promise of rebalancing Europe away from austerity and toward growth, and his narrow victory is seen in Washington as a public rejection of governments imposing strict cuts on battered economies."

• "[Hollande] also supports measures to support growth by, for instance, bolstering infrastructure spending." The Obama administration had pushed for such pro-growth policy changes even as Mr. Sarkozy joined Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in calling for deep spending cuts."
• "Mr. Hollande seems 'naturally more palatable to the administration,' said Justin Vaïsse, the director of research for the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. The administration seems to reason that “Europe probably has a better chance of avoiding a breakup or another renewed sovereign debt crisis by focusing on growth, rather than just sticking to austerity,” he said."
• "Observers said that though Mr. Hollande was likely to hew closer to the Obama administration on economic issues ... ."

Of course the Times doesn't really explain what Socialism is (and its brutal history) or that Hollande is floating a 75 percent tax rate on the country's top earners.

In sum: France just elected a Socialist, and his economic policies should be gladly accepted by the Obama administration because Obama and the Socialist are aligned on their ideology.

Maybe that doesn't surprise you -- but does it concern you?

This story has been updated with additional information.