The Carla (Bruni) Craze hits Israel

The photograph on the front-page of the English edition of Israel's Haaretz newspaper said it all.

The shot, below a banner headline about Israel's developing prisoner exchange talks with Hezbollah, featured a smiling, blue eyed beauty.

Behind her, almost as an afterthought, you can see the heads of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The cut line below the photo: Stealing the show

Carla Mania has come to Israel.

After charming the Brits in March and winning fawning praise from President Bush earlier this month, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the accomplished singer and successful model who is sometimes referred to as France's first lady, has brought her allure to Jerusalem.

One French magazine has dubbed her "La Presidente."

In her latest New York Times column, Maureen Dowd refers to it as "The Carla Effect."

"If an American first lady, or would-be first lady, described herself as a 'tamer of men' and had a 'man-eating' past filled with naked pictures, Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, sultry prone CD covers, breaking up marriages, bragging that she believes in polygamy and polyandry rather than monogamy, and having a son with a married philosopher whose father she had had an affair with, it would take more than an appearance on 'The View' to sweeten her image," writes Dowd.

Yes, chances are that if Michelle Obama were to write a song referring to her husband as "more deadly than Afghan heroin" it would not win Barack Obama many votes.

And Cindy McCain would probably have some explaining to do if she sang about her husband being "more dangerous than Colombian white."

(OK, Bruni is drawing some criticism from Colombian politicians for singing on her forthcoming album of a lover "more dangerous than Colombian white," but, so far, even the criticism seems to be adding to Carla's allure in France.)

Carla has arrived in Israel, and photographers are following her every move.

She hasn't even been her 24 hours, and news outlets have already moved dozens of photos of Bruni, including shots of her sandals, her pocketbook and her hand gently touching her husband's.

Never before have a first lady's feet been so well documented upon arrival at Ben Gurion airport...

Her husband, President What's-His-Name, is doing his best to make some news of his own.

Sarkozy told Israeli President Shimon Peres that Israel's decision to accelerate settlement construction was a "bad decision."

He said there could be no Middle East peace without Syria.

But enough about peace in the Middle East. What's Carla up to?

Below, for those who haven't yet seen France's first lady in her incarnation as a chanteuse, is one of her videos (viewed more than 2.5 million times)...

(Photo of Bruni with Peres and her husband: AP/Pool - Alain Benainous; photo of Bruni's feet: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis)