Word: nationals
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Considered in the abstract, at least, the idea of making English the official language of American states seems reasonable enough. As supporters of the referenda often argued, it doesn't seem like a great imposition to ask United States citizens to learn the nation's native language. After all, learning a new language hardly seems too much to ask in exchange for the benefits of living in a free society. And having pockets of foreign-speaking people might have a divisive effect on the unity of the nation, the referenda supporters claimed...
Those words were President Grover Cleveland's coda after he narrowly lost the 1888 election to Benjamin Harrison on the issue of tariff reform. A century later, it is dismaying to contemplate the nation's march of progress toward the perfection of its democratic institutions. Imagine George Bush or Michael Dukakis having the temerity to claim that his campaign was waged on the battlefield of "honest principle." Or better yet, picture either candidate rising above "cowardly subterfuge...
...breakfast. Think of the words and phrases that 18 months of nonstop electioneering have underlined in the political lexicon: Monkey Business, the character issue, attack videos, plagiarism, wimp, handlers, sound bites, flag factories, tank ride, negative spots, the A.C.L.U., Willie Horton and likability. Match them with all the pressing national concerns that were never seriously discussed: from the Japanese economic challenge to the plight of the underclass. As the voters trudge off to the polls with all the enthusiasm of dental patients, one can almost hear their collective lament: "What has America done as a nation to deserve an election...
...PUBLIC. From the outset, there were few signs that the nation was breathlessly anticipating this year's campaign. Lulled into passivity by an era of peace and paper-thin prosperity, the voters never displayed much interest in confronting the largely abstract problems, from environmental hazards to the trade deficit, that could threaten America's well-being in the 1990s. When the national mood is I'm-all-right-Jack complacency, it is unrealistic to expect political leaders to play Cassandra. Even public concerns, like crime and drugs, that consistently ranked high in national polls contributed to this air of unreality...
...PROCESS. Perhaps the fall campaign alone is indictment enough of the way the nation chooses its presidential nominees. It is somewhat embarrassing to recall that the whole baleful journey began with the unwarranted media frenzy that surrounded the Iowa caucuses early last February. But it is hard to blame Iowa for Bush and Dukakis: both candidates limped home third. More telling is the sad truth that the contenders in both parties who took the most + provocative and sometimes courageous positions -- Democrat Bruce Babbitt and Republicans Pete du Pont and Jack Kemp -- were among the first casualties. The problem with most...