Word: discomfort
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...immediate issues were economic, the underlying agenda was intensely political. Chamorro's unenviable challenge is to convince a hungry, impoverished population that deepening discomfort in the short term is a necessary evil for long-term economic recovery. The problem is that every time Chamorro asks Nicaraguans to make a sacrifice, she hands the Sandinistas a powerful issue around which to rally political support. Former President Daniel Ortega Saavedra's postelection threat last February to "rule from below" is proving effective. Last week's strike was the second by public servants since Chamorro took office and the second that ended...
Given all that, the gas-tax referendum might have been more significant if it had been rejected -- a sign that voters would rather suffer any discomfort than reach into their pockets. In fact, the increase was approved by just 52% in an election in which less than 40% of registered voters took part. "The message to government is 'Give us a discrete program, a finite cost, convince us that you're going to spend the money wisely, and we will write you a limited check,' " says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst at Claremont College's graduate center for politics...
...roles of racial minorities and homosexuals in the news business, of course, is that the ethnic groups are highly visible, while many gays remain closeted. Another difference concerns editorial attitudes: though most news organizations have accepted the importance of racial coverage, issues of concern to gays still engender widespread discomfort...
Although Republican Governor George Deukmejian is not running for re- election, he has adroitly played the death issue to maximize the discomfort of the Democrats. After Harris petitioned for clemency, Deukmejian decided to conduct the hearing himself, denying Van de Kamp a high-profile role that ordinarily would have been his. That led Harris to withdraw his request for a hearing, complaining he would never get a fair one from Deukmejian, who as a state legislator helped draft California's death-penalty law. The Governor has now agreed to hear a telephoned plea for clemency from Mother Teresa...
...George Bush can enjoy the Democratic discomfort. Eventually, though, the public may also wonder what the President is doing. Asked to explain why the White House will not do more to mount an attack on the deficit, an Administration official replied, "We have done a lot. We have given this plan a lot of credibility." In Washington that's what passes for leadership...