Word: lessers
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...President Franklin D. Roosevelt said about then Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. "But he's our SOB." That lesser-evil outlook might just as easily have described the U.S. attitude toward Pakistan's General-turned-President Pervez Musharraf, who resigned on Aug. 18 in the face of looming impeachment. Nor was it only the West that saw Musharraf as preferable to the chaos and venality of the political system he overturned to seize power in 1999. He carried the support of the urban middle class, which was desperately looking for the stability and modernity that had eluded a political system dominated...
...revel in performances from athletes you've never heard of before. When multimillionaire professionals like tennis' Williams sisters share in the Olympic limelight, it's heartening that they want to represent their nation. But while the participation of such mega-stars can sometimes take away from the achievement of lesser-knowns, homegrown talent may have the upperhand in women's tennis this year. Six days into the Beijing Games, both Serena and Venus had exited, the older sister dispatched by none other than China...
...really thought it cost me the race," he said. "I ended up making the right decision. Trying to take a short fast stroke to try to get my hand on the wall first turned out to be in my favor." His coach agreed. "In that situation, it's the lesser of two evils - either you're going to glide or take half a stroke," said Bowman. "He did a much better job taking half a stroke...
...wonders of Olympic basketball. Except these guys aren't playing hoops. They're going for gold in team handball, a popular game throughout Europe and, to a lesser extent, American gym classes. But handball is the only sport in which the Americans don't have a single Olympian. (Rhythmic gymnastics - you know, the one with the ribbons and balls - also has no Yank participant. But since it's an event within gymnastics, it doesn't count as its own Olympic sport...
...cricket looming above them like some toxic cloud. We would do ourselves a huge favor by declaring a moratorium on cricket for maybe 10 years, diverting our attention and money to all the other hopelessly funded sports in India, and watching the cricketers earn a living like us lesser mortals. U.K. Sadhoo, New Delhi