On the sidelines of the recent Democratic National Convention that nominated Barack Obama to seek a second term, one symposium saw a clutch of American grandees take questions from invited foreign politicians. A man from Bahrain asked about the Arab spring. A woman from the Afghan parliament voiced fears about democracy in her homeland. Then came a more querulous intervention. A Belgian member of the European Parliament demanded to know why the European Union had not yet been mentioned. From the stage, Madeleine Albright, a former secretary of state, suggested that the world was waiting for Europe to pull its weight. The room erupted in scornful applause, delighted by the put-down.
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