But to avoid the impression of conflict of interest, Mr. Sarkozy said, "I spoke to Éric Woerth and I asked him to devote himself exclusively to the reform of pensions".
When a justice has dissented forcefully from a ruling, or made a speech that sheds light on their thinking, we've noted that too - not because we want to create an impression of conflict at the top of the judiciary, but in order to acknowledge the differences of opinion in tough cases.
Eisenberg told The Times that when he found out Hoefel and Michael Delvin were married, he suggested that the firm "should probably focus on our other colleges to avoid any impression of conflict, although none existed".
At the least, this left the impression of a conflict of interest.
I have taken this step to avoid any mistaken impression of a conflict of interest," said Vlieghe.
"His backing of John Terry (left) wasn't helpful in the way it came across or was communicated and it did give the impression of a conflict of views between the manager and the board," Bernstein said.
Democrats stepped up their call for a special counsel, saying that having the investigation overseen by Mr. Ashcroft, a former Republican senator and Bush appointee, would, at a minimum, create the impression of a conflict of interest.
Outrageous public statements from religious and scientific leaders reinforce the impression of endless conflict, whether it's Richard Dawkins claiming that religion is a "God delusion," or Pat Robertson suggesting that opponents of Intelligent Design should not expect God's help when disaster strikes.
The idea here and on other issues, from climate change to fiscal policy, is to create the impression of a cacophony of conflicting ideas and evidence when there is in fact basic agreement among serious researchers.
Brazil's government decided to intervene, fearful of giving any impression of weakness in the face of conflict with the British.
