Sarkozy's brilliant argument

If this doesn't put a rancid bow on the Bush administration, not sure what could.

Charles Bremner writes in the Times of London about an account that emerged yesterday about a conversation between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, when Sarkozy was in Moscow in August to broker a ceasefire in Georgia.

"With Russian tanks only 30 miles from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia's Government. . . . [T]he Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. 'I am going to hang [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili by the balls,' Mr Putin declared.

"Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. 'Hang him?' -- he asked. 'Why not?' Mr Putin replied. 'The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.'

"Mr Sarkozy . . . tried to reason with him: 'Yes but do you want to end up like Bush?' Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: 'Ah -- you have scored a point there.' "

I guess you could say George W. Bush saved Saakashvili's balls.