Sol doesn't respect the Corleones at all. He thinks he can muscle his way into the family by killing Vito. He derides Clemenza as "fat," and then when he is suposed to be making nice with Michael one of the first things he does is insult his brother Santino saying "I hope you're not a hothead like your brother....you can't talk business with him." Then at dinner he insults Vito by saying he is old fashioned and not in tune with the times. He is even unrepentent about the assassination attempt....saying "I missed my chance."
DonT... while I agree with you, I think he's more trying to show Tom that the corleones are in less control and he's in more control than what Tom's biased opinion may render, and he sees them (the caporegimes) as "small fries" in the grand scheme of things. Afterall... Sol was kinda right in some regard... he is being backed by the second (if not the first, to be frank) most powerfull family in NY, and he's already hit the head of the Corleone family. so he MUST be "smelling himself" and knowing that he is now in a very powerful position.
