Word: democratization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Consider the Republican Party. Many Republicans dislike John McCain with a passion that has lasted for years. Asked to explain, they refer to the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance-reform law (which they thought, incorrectly as it turns out, would bite Republicans more than Democrats), or his opposition (since rescinded) to the Bush tax cuts, or what they regard as his tiresome and preening routine as a maverick. They resent his mutual love affair with the press (which he jokingly refers to as "my base"). They remember a lot of foolish talk a while back about how McCain might switch parties...
Barney Frank is on the line. I ask the Massachusetts Democrat, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, if he thinks the housing bill that he and Senator Chris Dodd are on the verge of pushing through Congress will really do much good. Frank first trots out a joke from the late comedian Henny Youngman: "How's your wife?" Answer: "Compared to what?" Then he gets a bit more serious. "Do I think it's gonna have a great impact?" he says. "It's gonna have an impact. I think it will be helpful...
That potential scenario infuriates many members of Thailand's elite, who believe that Thaksin, far from being a populist democrat, is actually a corrupt politician who distorted democratic institutions to cement his power. Since late May, thousands of protesters have camped out in central Bangkok calling for Samak to resign because they believe he is little more than a Thaksin puppet. Samak begs to differ, telling TIME recently that he doesn't consult with his predecessor on political issues. "I can do [it] on my own," he says...
...however, Democrat Walter Mondale found himself in need of a miracle against incumbent President Ronald Reagan. Mondale, who joined Carter's ticket on the third day of the 1976 convention, broke with traditional timing by naming Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate a week before the party gathered in San Francisco. Mondale turned his one-week convention bounce into a two-week sensation - not that it mattered much. Reagan was re-elected in a landslide of historic proportions...
...linkage between conventions and running-mate rollouts was almost completely broken. Democrat John Kerry announced his choice of John Edwards nearly three weeks before his party gathered...