Word: centrist
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Clinton was neither a demagogue nor a Demo-GOP. Instead, he became what he had promised to be in 1992 and throughout his career: a raging centrist who would fight for middle class interests and mainstream values. In 1994, voters didn't vote for a "do nothing" government. They wanted a government that works and has real accomplishments on real problems. For all the criticism of Clinton's "little programs," school construction, teenage curfews, and child literacy have a lot bigger impact on American families than the "big ideas" that some inside the Beltway demanded...
Clinton's centrist agenda has added to the financial strain by creating at least a temporary rift between the D.N.C. and some of its most reliable friends. Conspicuously absent from the contributors to the gala was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which spent lavishly on Clinton's re-election. Public employees know their jobs are on the line in any battle to cut spending...
...doubts that Blair is clever. Like centrist politicians everywhere, he's adept at embracing prevailing sentiments. By definition, though, the pursuit of centrism often involves following rather than leading. The question then is whether such centrists actually believe what they say and whether their actions in office will conform to their rhetoric. One always wonders whether they're tough enough to arbitrate among competing concerns and constituencies. Often the test comes when the only clean way out of a tangle demands saying no to those who will be offended by a particular decision. Whether Blair passes this test remains...
With Labour's leadership in hand, Blair began borrowing from abroad. The shift toward the center by left-leaning political parties is a worldwide phenomenon, and Blair has gone to school primarily on the examples offered in Australia and the U.S., both of which he has visited and whose centrist politicians he knows well. In Australia, Blair was charmed by Robert Hawke, who had said when he was Prime Minister that "you have to be an idiot or just plain blind with prejudice not to understand that you've got to have a healthy and growing private sector...
...decisive. These leaders have long warned that they will pull out of the coalition if charges of dirty work are confirmed. The Attorney General's critical portrait of questionable politicking, together with the details in the police report, may be enough to send Sharansky's immigrants' party and the centrist Third Way Party heading for the door. With 11 seats between them, their departure would topple the government, which has a majority of six. "If a harsh report is submitted," says Third Way Knesset member Yehuda Harel, "our tendency is to demand new elections...