Meanwhile, Sarko is howling about "la politique de caniveau." Unfortunately, I know which approach would work in the U.S.
They were actually trying to explore some possible common ground, hence the low key tone.
Fear not for your one-liners and biting replies: they'll be plenty of these during the upcoming Sarko vs Sego debate on May 2nd. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.