Word: ax
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Blunt and a tad belligerent, America's senior citizens are suddenly flexing their biceps in presidential politics. Flush from a Capitol Hill victory that protected Social Security increases from the budget ax, the Gray Lobby has turned its muscle to states where early contests will winnow the field of presidential candidates. Across the country, campaign operatives report that no other group has emerged in this election cycle with such unexpected force. "Any candidate who wants to win in 1988 is not going to mess with the old folks," says Thomas Kiley, an adviser to Michael Dukakis...
...between the two journalists was stark. Wolfe, elegant and soft-spoken, paralyzed his victims with a distinctive satire for which there is still no antidote. Breslin looked like a dented truck, talked loud and dirty, and went after his targets (the city's rich and powerful) with a meat-ax...
...White House they think Reagan might ease such tension by pointing out that when Moscow Party Chief Boris Yeltsin included Gorbachev's wife Raisa in his criticism, he was sacked. After White House Chief of Staff Don Regan hung up on Nancy Reagan, he too got the ax. In unison there is hope: a toast to the ladies...
Almost as significant, however, was what was not done. The spending cuts were actually far less than those mandated by the automatic Gramm-Rudman- Hollings ax, which was temporarily activated last Friday pending enactment of the new compromise. Some of the other savings came from selling off federal assets and various financial sleights of hand. And the summiteers squandered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- a major financial crisis during a nonelection year -- to confront the biggest sacred cow of all: Social Security. Few dared even to whisper those words...
Even after the summiteers emerged with their compromise on Friday afternoon, the President proceeded to trigger the $23 billion of across-the-board cuts required by Gramm-Rudman. Congress, however, has until mid-December to incorporate the new deal into law before the full weight of the Gramm-Rudman ax falls. Thus congressional leaders will be forced to iron out swiftly the details of the summit compromise and to muster the votes for the requisite tax hikes and spending reductions...