A day after, Sarkozy says he wishes he hadn't sworn

Even as France comes to term with a swearing president and labels him a "national shame", Sarkozy says a better response to the snub would have been to ignore him. Here's what he told Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France: "Il est difficile, même quand on est président, de ne pas répondre à une insulte, j'ai sans doute les défauts de mes qualités. Ce n'est pas parce qu'on est président qu'on devient quelqu'un sur lequel on peut s'essuyer les pieds. Cela étant, j'aurais mieux fait de ne pas lui répondre." (It's difficult, even as the president, not to respond to an insult. I sure have negative qualities but that doesn't mean once elected as president the person can be used as a doormat. That said, I would have fared better had I not responded to him.) Interestingly, the last sentence came as an afterthought that was slipped in by the presidential spin doctors once the journal sent a transcript to be cleared by Sarkozy. The editor Dominique de Montvalon maintained Sarkozy had not uttered those words during the interview! So, he may not be that repentant after all!