Word: magical
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Dukakis' itinerary and his choice of a Texan as running mate show that his strategists have no respect for what is known as the "electoral lock." That concept, based on voting patterns of the previous generation, posits that Republican candidates start with a huge advantage in reaching the magic number of 270 electoral votes. In the past five elections, 23 states, with a total of 202 electoral votes, have gone solidly Republican. Except in Jimmy Carter's narrow victory in 1976, the South and the West were the most loyal Republican regions...
Reagan's ability to overfly troubles of his own making on a magic carpet woven of his own illusions remains a wonderment. He has helped banish bad news from the political lexicon. "There are no bitter pills among Ronald Reagan's jelly beans," explains a durable adviser. But eight years of smile-button politics leave a heavy burden for those who would follow, Democrat or Republican. No matter how intractable the problems, the American people have come to expect can-do homilies from their President. Any honest talk about sacrifice or yielding self-interest to the common interest...
Bianca feels safe when she is at home in front of the television. When Jem, a shapely, superstar rock singer who is the title character of her favorite cartoon show, shakes her radiant pink hair and makes her magical red earrings sparkle, Bianca is transported into another world. Jem embodies what Bianca would like to be as an adult: sexy, a singer and a success. "I don't want to be a maid at hotels when I grow up," says Bianca. "That's what my auntie is. She works for a hotel in the French Quarter. I want...
Other journal entries are less encouraging. Cynthia, a former foster child who sits in front of Bianca in class, once wrote, "I would like a magic ring that do anything I said and I would want my baby doll to be a real baby." The teacher wrote back, asking her, "How would you take care of a real baby and still go to school?" She answered, "I have a mom, you know." To this, the teacher replied in her red ink, "This isn't your mom's baby. Why should she take care of it?" No reply...
...DELECTABLE LAND. Like Cardiff Hill, it lies just far enough away from the adult mind to be dreamy, to shimmer with a sentimental abstraction -- if one does not recall it too precisely. Childhood, where everyone begins, has the power of myth. Big people are gods, and the world is magic -- or terrifying...