Only one of the preachers he identified spoke here and that was about Islamic finance.
A prominent hedge fund investor, who like the other executives who discussed their anxieties asked not to be identified, spoke of a crisis of confidence.
"He fascinates everyone," said a friend who knows Mr. Sarkozy well and did not want to be identified speaking about him.
"Korea is a different world, and they play hardball," said one I.O.C. member who did not want to be identified speaking about the bid before the vote.
He and others interviewed for this article declined to be identified speaking about Mr. Martinez, citing the continuing litigation or fear of angering him.
Those officers, most of whom agreed to speak on the condition that they not be identified, spoke in response to a reporter's questions about the nature of gas warfare on both sides of the conflict between Iran and Iraq from 1981 to 1988.
"This financial crisis has provided momentum to Barack Obama and other Democrats, and their campaigns now have the wind at their backs," said the consultant, who asked not to be identified speaking pessimistically about the Republican outlook.
At universities, it is a topic of class discussion; at the area's only abortion clinic, officials will not reveal any information about its doctors; and throughout the city, few are willing to be identified speaking about the matter.
"This is probably what United Russia is scared of most: that someone from the inside will start to talk," said an official in the Vladimir Region government, who did not want to be identified speaking about the party.
A former administration official, who like most others did not want to be identified speaking of such a sensitive matter, said, "It's like the attachment you feel for your heart surgeon after he performs a quadruple bypass".
