Word: politician
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...Kennedy could do this not just because he was a politician of conviction, though he was, and not just because he had a loyal, large and talented staff, though he did. He could do it because the U.S. political and constitutional system enables, indeed encourages, the active involvement of legislators in lawmaking. From outside the U.S., the prism through which American politics is viewed is normally that of the presidency. But that can be misleading. Article I of the Constitution is not concerned with the presidency at all (that's covered in Article II), but the legislature. In constitutional terms...
...party with a majority in the legislature, genuine independent lawmaking is a rarity. Legislative proposals are drawn up in the executive, with the assistance of permanent bureaucrats, and handed to diets, assemblies or parliaments for a ritual rubber stamp. Very occasionally, in Britain or Germany, Japan or France, a politician will make a name for what they do in national legislatures - in Britain, there was a long tradition of leaving socially controversial legislation over matters such as abortion or capital punishment to backbench MPs - but such reputations are most unusual. (See TIME's photos: Mourning Ted Kennedy...
Katz and the show's executive producer, Conrad Green, had discussed casting a politician for a long time. Programs like theirs thrive on confounding people's expectations. One of DWTS's key early successes, says Green, was snagging boxer Evander Holyfield. People tuned in because they couldn't believe a onetime heavyweight champ would be hoofing it on TV. To keep its audience growing, the show - which, according to Nielsen, averaged 20 million viewers last season - has to find contestants who will bring in new fan bases, beyond its usual rotation of sports figures, minor Hollywood celebs and reality stars...
...plan with his wife and daughter, both fans of the show, who urged him to go for it. "They said, 'Sure, why not? Let's do it.' " His only wider aim in participating, he insists, is to win. "I'm surprised people consider it unusual that a former politician would be on a dancing show," he says. "Politics is also show...
...Italian media are concerned, Gianfranco Fini, president of Parliament's lower house, is filling that role nicely. The local paper in Bologna, Il Resto del Carlino, like others in Italy, offers daily updates on a brewing feud between Berlusconi and Fini, the most powerful right-wing politician from this traditionally left-leaning city. Last week, Fini demanded "more democracy" within the center-right coalition and lashed out at Berlusconi's family newspaper, Il Giornale, for accusing him of drifting leftward. "Enough already. It's time for a new approach," Fini told reporters in the central city of Gubbio...