Word: formalizing
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Some insiders whisper another reason for the lack of real rebuttal: neither candidate is much good at it, at least by the standards a coach of formal debates would apply. The rules for judging a TV political debate are of course different. Says one candid presidential aide: "Reagan delivered a couple of good one-liners, stayed close to the podium, looked alert and had a better camera angle. The conclusion is that Reagan won the debate." The adviser's own verdict is somewhat different: "The most interesting thing is how little these debates tell us about which candidate would...
Among academicians who study such things, the rituals of status seeking at the dinner party or the formal dance are as old as human memory. "Any society that has upward mobility as a major feature pays a great deal of attention to manners," says Alan Dundes, a professor of anthropology and folklore at the University of California, Berkeley. "Young people today are concerned with making it, and part of making it is setting the table properly when the boss comes over for dinner. Self-improvement is a big part of the American dream, and learning manners is part of self...
...evidence takes many forms. Clothing is becoming a bit more formal, more traditional, more conventional. Young men are getting their hair cut short. "One minute I was wearing Betsey Johnson sex clothes, the next I only had eyes for a nice Burberry," wrote Style Columnist Cynthia Heimel in Manhattan's Village Voice this month. "And gray flannel pleated trousers. Harris-tweed jackets. Simple shirtwaists in unsullied cotton . . . You know what this means, don't you? It means that people are going to be voting for Ronald Reagan again...
...Duarte's contingent inside the church, and the doors closed behind them. The two sides sat down at a plain wooden table beneath a crucifix and a quotation painted on the blue wall that admonished COME TO ME, THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WEARY. Thus began the first formal meeting between the two opposing forces in the bloody war that has taken more than 50,000 lives...
...alleged government bombing of civilian targets. But some people present at the discussions were encouraged by the civility of tone. Said a government participant: "There were no hugs and kisses, but there was much more cordiality than expected. We had feared [the guerrillas] would be cold and formal, even hostile, but they were reasonably friendly and very civilized." Duarte's recollection of the guerrillas' demeanor was that "they were very hard at first" (see box). The guerrillas' own feelings about their attitude were summed up by Zamora: "We are in favor of a process that, although...