Word: consensus
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...cooperative with one's colleagues may vitiate the articulation of real choices. This seemed to me a problem in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. On the other hand, if the procedures grow too formal, if the President is humble enough to subordinate his judgment to a bureaucratic consensus-as happened under Eisenhower-the danger is that he will in practice be given only the choice between approving or disapproving a single recommended course. This may be relieved by occasional spasms of presidential self-will, but such erratic outbursts are bound to prove temporary since his refusal to accept...
...rest of us. He still believes, it seems from this book, that policy development is a coherent, discrete process; that America of the 40s and 50s was a disinterested defender of democracy and world peace; that America as a whole could be considered as a whole; that consensus still reigned in American politics in the crucial years of the nuclear debate...
...problem was that decisions could not be made quickly. To gather spokespersons in a confused situation was nearly impossible. One meeting I attended lasted six and a half hours, and we reached no consensus on the next day's approach. The people who came to Seabrook opposed a hierarchical system that has abandoned concern for human life in favor of greater profits. The protesters did not allow their organization to mirror that of the system they condemned. To attempt Seabrook again, or an action like it, a method must be devised to make quick decisions...
...State Dean Rusk and Henry Kissinger) were to receive a thorough briefing on Vance's talks with the Soviets. Then they planned to huddle with Carter and top White House aides. Although the process seems time consuming, the outside experts would not be asked to reach a consensus, but would be used as a sounding board for Administration officials...
...Meany was unable to maintain the momentum of unionism as more workers turned white collar. Union membership has shrunk from 34% of the work force when he became president to 23% today. Without Meany's capacity for reaching consensus, the fractious unions may have trouble working together. Says Ulric Scott, chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: "His departure is as important as his presence. It's like a $100 bill that has been changed into a number of smaller bills. Politicians are going to have to court the AFL-CIO as an organization...