From a reader:

Maybe I’m just being crotchety, but has anyone else noticed the sneaky
wording of the article you posted?
“…Sarkozy became the first French president born after World War II
and prevented Royal, 53, from becoming the nation’s first woman president.”
Sarkozy prevented her? How about the voters prevented her, by not voting
for her? How about she prevented herself, for not appealing to enough
voters?