That 70s-Era European Conservatism Show

JERUSALEM -- While Barack Obama globetrots, two Republicans are also looking abroad -- and backwards, for retro sloganeering from the glam era of European conservatism.

John McCain's latest television ad, attacking Obama for playing a role in raising gas prices, implores voters not to "hope for more energy, vote for it." It is McCain’s latest riff on a 1978 slogan used by Britain’s Conservative Party: "Don't Hope for a Better Life. Vote for One."

Now Ron Paul is finding inspiration in the same era. The libertarian-minded Republican candidate who has still yet to back McCain is planning a major event to steal some of the nominee’s attention during the Republicans' convention week in the Twin Cities next month. The name of the multi-day fundraiser for Paul’s Campaign for Liberty: "Rally for the Republic," a direct translation of "Rassemblement pour la Republique," the name of the French Gaullist party birthed in 1976 by Jacques Chirac (and once headed by Nicolas Sarkozy).