Word: defeatism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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During the seven tense days after his crushing defeat in the Iowa caucuses, George Bush gazed deep into the black hole of defeat. The bounce from Iowa allowed Bob Dole to overcome a 20-point deficit in the New Hampshire polls; he seemed poised to knock Bush out in only the first round of the primary season. But during the final weekend before the New Hampshire vote, Bush's workers launched a brilliant offensive that rescued their man's candidacy. "I feel that I have a lot in common with Mark Twain," said Bush, who appeared more relieved than excited...
Dole's mood darkened as soon as the New Hampshire outcome became clear. Just as victory had seemed to liberate him, defeat sent him reverting to his old caustic persona. During a television hookup with Bush Tuesday night, Dole was asked by NBC's Tom Brokaw whether he had anything to say to the Vice President. "Yeah," Dole snarled as he glowered into the camera. "Stop lying about my record...
After the defeat, Brock was as bitter as his boss, lashing out at Bush's alleged distortions of the Dole record. "We're sick to the gills with this kind of tactic," said Brock. "We don't have to wallow in the mud with them to answer their charges." (In fact, the attacks were not so much untrue as they were cheap: Dole has indeed waffled about whether some new revenues might be necessary to tackle the deficit issue. But so at times has Bush.) Behind the scenes, Dole accused his minions of losing the contest for him. "When things...
Speaking at the University of New Hampshire, Dole humiliated a student who was asking him about South African sanctions. There's also little sign that Dole can be gracious in defeat. As he sat watching those red-white-and-blue hats piling up on the NBC delegate tote board last Tuesday night, he could not resist snapping at the Vice President for "lying...
...point and hundredths of a second. Many are paupers. One of them, Bobsledder Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre of Monaco, is a prince. Their hopes are for modest rewards. Says Muniz, who happily finished five spots better than last: "None of us wants to be the 'agony of defeat...