Marine Le Pen, the far-right French presidential candidate sprinted through Washington today trying to meet American politicians that desperately wanted to avoid her.

Le Pen has been dragging her National Front Party from the fringe of French politics closer to the mainstream. A conservative and nationalist, Le Pen has been critical of immigration, European integration, and economic liberalization - making it impossible to categorize her in American politics. So of course she wanted to meet Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich.

Paul's office tried to cancel their meeting citing "scheduling conflicts." Le Pen blamed the French media for sabotaging her visit. But the intrepid Le Pen wasn't deterred. She was going to discuss the gold standard with Ron Paul whether he wanted to or not. So she barged into his office. Roll Call has the details:

With Paul on the floor voting, Le Pen hunkered down for 50 minutes in his office, and a tight-faced Paul eventually pushed his way through the reporters, staring straight ahead as he was asked repeatedly why he was meeting with the controversial leader.

Following the meeting — alternately described as "quick" by Miller and "very interesting; we spoke at length" by Le Pen — Le Pen praised Paul, and her own National Front, on their economic policies.

Very interesting indeed! The French politician wanted to discuss the gold standard with Paul.

Le Pen plans to visit the Holocaust Memorial during her Washington trip, another public relations signal that she is changing the National Front's image.

If you are in Washington you can recognize her by the swarm of disapproving and obsessed French media personnel surrounding her at all times.