Word: avuncularity
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Current majority leader Tom Foley's anticipated move to Speaker would satisfy the Democrats' need for an ethically pure successor. Squeaky clean and conciliatory, Foley could be to the Democrats what Jerry Ford was to the Republicans after Richard Nixon: a healing, avuncular presence and a guarantee that the congressional leadership would cease to be a staple on the nightly news. Despite some scurrilous efforts to spread rumors about him, Foley seems a shoo-in. "Only the Angel Gabriel could beat him," said one Congressman...
...urging of his advisers, Bush gradually cut out press access during his campaign. The reporters responded by becoming first obnoxious, then surly and irritable. Reagan could get away with slighting the press, but it will be harder for Bush. He lacks the Teflon that Reagan generated with his avuncular, good- hearted manner. If Bush allows criticism to drive him into a beleaguered posture, as it did during the 1984 campaign, he and the media will have a long four years indeed...
Perhaps so, but Stempel's presence alone -- his booming voice and avuncular manner -- motivates workers and soothes many Wall Street analysts. When Stempel left as head of GM's European operations in 1982 after a 17-month stint, union delegates at West Germany's Russelsheim plant gave him a ceramic wine pitcher as a symbol of the warm relations he fostered with the rank and file. Detroit's unions appreciate him too. Donald Ephlin, head of the United Auto Workers' GM unit, prizes the president's accessibility. Says Ephlin: "If I have things to bring to his attention...
...debate -- and perhaps even Dukakis' chance to inspire a late-inning rally to win the election -- may have been lost in those opening two minutes. George Bush strode onto the stage in Los Angeles determined to prove with an avuncular assortment of smiles, chuckles, winks and asides that he was the affable heir to Ronald Reagan. But even when Dukakis tried to compete in this smile-button sweepstakes, his eerie grin had the spontaneity of a Dale Carnegie student practicing before the mirror. Asked why he did not appear more "likable," Dukakis felt compelled to launch into a petty aside...
Then TV arrived, and Walt really revved up his marketing genius. He named his first prime-time series Disneyland -- a recurrent plug for the Anaheim theme park -- and filled it with old cartoons and his avuncular presence. When a Disneyland serial about Indian Fighter Davy Crockett stoked a brief frenzy for coonskin caps, the studio quickly sutured the three episodes together and released them as a theatrical feature. Minimal expenditures, more revenue. Then Disney launched an afternoon program, The Mickey Mouse Club, which introduced the Mouseketeers, a troupe of child stars who cavorted like stagestruck Cub Scouts and intoned...