David Bruce fit the role so perfectly that he is easy to parody. Ambassador to France, West Germany and England during the postwar era of American hegemony, he was a Virginia gentleman in a bespoke suit, a wealthy sybarite known to his cafe society chums as "Bordeaux Bruce." Offered a choice of top diplomatic posts in either Paris or London after the war, he chose Paris -- because the British (fearful of rabies) would not allow him to bring his wife's dogs to London. Affecting a studied languor, Bruce liked to quote Talleyrand's maxim "surtout, pas de zele" (above all, no zeal). Such a diplomat could have been a complete bore.