But he will also need to overcome tensions he helped foster with his hard-line stance on immigration and his inflammatory words as interior minister, when, for example, he promised to clean out a crime-ridden housing project with an industrial power hose.

FORBES: Can Sarkozy Really Change France?

Joseph Dunford has since put U.S.-led forces on heightened alert, warning in an advisory that Mr. Karzai's "inflammatory" words could prompt some Afghans to "lash out" at Western forces, according to an official familiar with the document.

WSJ: Afghan Politicians Urge U.S. Patience

No "inflammatory" statements or swear words are allowed on the site, while calls for actions "outside the remit" of the government are forbidden.

BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Hunting support tops e-petitions

They respond by citing membership-satisfaction polls and insist that those who complain "are being frightened by inflammatory language" about rare occurrences, in the words of Susan Pisano, spokeswoman for the American Association of Health Plans.

CNN: Backlash Against HMOs