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FReeper BozPolitics posted this on his Blog after actually meeting Sarko:

http://frenchpolitique.blogspot.com/

Sarkozy sings to Bush at black tie affair

Here’s some Sarkozy quotes from tonight at the Bush’s:

“I come to Washington with a very simple message. I want to reconquer the heart of America, and to reconquer the heart of America in a lasting way. I have come to tell you one thing, it is that France and the United States, we are friends, we are allies, always and forever (that is mangled from “depuis toujours et pour toujours,” sorry). I have come to tell you that we can be the friend of America and win elections in France, it is not a miracle, it is a reality. (laughter) ...”

Sarkozy also assured the audience that he had no electoral ambitions in the US:

“So here I am in Washington on a first Tuesday in November. (Laughter.) Now, I have no electoral ambitions when it comes to the U.S.even though I know it’s a very special day because it’s the day on which Americans elect their President.”

Finally, despite language that was at time painful in its diplomatic and historical niceties, Sarkozy did briefly touch on common foreign policy challenges:

“We need to take up a challenge of nuclear proliferation, of religious extremism and of fanaticism. And we need to respond to the demands and challenges of peoples who wish to claim their rightful place in a new world, the world of the 21st century — and a new order, that of the 21st century, which is no longer the order of the 20th century. And we need also, together, to find a new balance between man and nature, in order that we may save this planet of ours — and not only save it, but leave it as a legacy to our children in a better state than that in which we found it. Together we must vanquish abject poverty, because it is on abject poverty that terrorism worldwide feeds.”

By the way, I translated the first few quotes before I found the White House translation, so that’s why it might not match up with the link. You can watch a video of the two presidents’ comments here

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071106-14.wm.v.html

I see Sarkozy! Kind of.

Apparently meeting with the one American willing to wait two hours in the cold to have the chance of seeing the French president for 5 seconds was not on Nicolas Sarkozy’s agenda today when he arrived in Washington. So I actually had to wait.

In reality it wasn’t that bad; after landing and speaking to the French-American Business Council, Sarkozy awarded several American WWII veterans the Legion of Honor at the residence of the French Ambassador. So after waiting for 45 minutes outside the residence in the freezing cold, having my bag searched and then being asked to move down the street by the security officials nearby (in fact, the secret service guys were very friendly), several police bikes, a cop car, and a motorcade of at least 5 black cars and SUVs pulled up. Of course, being about 40 yards away and with dozens of people in black suits, I couldn’t tell if I actually saw Sarkozy walking up the steps of the mansion and going in. Twenty mintues later, everyone leaves, and again, in the rush of people (this time with TV cameras), I couldn’t be sure exactly who the French president was, although there’s no way I didn’t see him. Oh well, seeing a motorcade like that speed off is pretty impressive, and whichever car he was in, I was within 30 ft. In retrospect, binoculars would have helped...but that would have looked really suspicious.

But anyway, Sarkozy has quite the schedule, and he is still due for dinner at the White House tonight. Tomorrow will highlight a speech to both houses of Congress (broadcast by C-SPAN at 10:45 EST) and a joint press-conference with George Bush at Mount Vernon. Finally, Reuters has some quotes from Sarkozy’s first meeting with the business group:

“A great economy needs a great currency...You have quality labor, some extraordinary companies, you don’t need a dollar that is too weak.”

“We love America, but we love America that is true to its values...We love an America which supports creators but not speculators, we love an America that believes in free trade but also in honest competition.”

“I will say to our Chinese friends, ‘you have been spectacularly successful...you don’t need an undervalued currency to win...It is not even useful. It creates imbalances and, at the end of the day, these imbalances impact you too.”