Word: direness
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John McCain's claim that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong," uttered just before the financial crisis turned dire, may go down as one of the great blunders of presidential-campaign history. "Senator McCain, what economy are you talking about?" Barack Obama exclaimed hours after the words escaped his opponent's mouth. The mocking TV ads soon followed, and as the weeks wore on and financial jitters gave way to near collapse and certain recession, McCain's statement began to evoke unsettling memories of Herbert Hoover, who said similar things in the early 1930s...
...effort required to address our current crisis is trivial compared with Britain repelling the Nazis. But the situation is getting more dire. Remember all the talk about how we have been "borrowing from future generations" with the federal deficit, consumer debt and so on? Well, it's been going on for more than a generation, and the future is now. There have been so many false alarms that maybe we can be forgiven for thinking this is another one. But no one is going to forgive those IOUS...
...took on Barack Obama. He had a clear message of low taxes and smaller government. He targeted an equally clear-cut audience: Joe the Plumber. (A real guy, who must be dodging every local news crew within 100 miles today.) McCain - henpecked by an incumbent he never liked, a dire economy he can't control and a newcomer with less baggage than the Tooth Fairy - suddenly seemed free from worry. He remembered his years as a leading man in those dramatic episodes of yesteryear - campaign-finance reform, the Gang of 14 - and he was glad to reprise his role...
...past with Iran and Cuba. Yet in the last year, the Venezuelan president has seen his political star begin to fade: After losing a crucial referendum that would have allowed him to remain in power indefinitely last December, Chavez has attempted to distract Venezuelans’ attention from the dire economic situation at home with a lot of show abroad...
...were off-putting if not outright alarming: students who register in their college town could be ineligible to be claimed as dependents on their parents' tax returns and might be in danger of losing tuition scholarships. The problem, according to youth-voter advocates and the IRS, was that these dire warnings were incorrect. After widespread outrage, the registrars backed off. But experts worry that the resulting confusion could sour first timers on voting altogether. "It's creating somewhat of a chilling effect," says Steve Fenberg, executive director of the youth civic action group New Era Colorado...