Word: portrayals
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Squier said that while the character of both candidates was fairly unknown, Bush defined himself as gentle and kind. But in a reference to cartoonist Garry Trudeau's attacks, Squier said Bush showed "his evil twin Skippy" when he got the chance to portray Dukakis as weak and unpatriotic...
...Sorel, Jacobina Martin stands out. Sorel realizes that her family has plunged headlong into the abyss of eccentricity and wants to do something to improve the situation. Martin manages to portray both sides of her character well, shifting easily between the personalities of a pouting child and a semi-sophisticated young woman. She cries and whines a lot, but she gives her character a tragicomic aura that earns the audience's sympathies...
...actors, many of whom are not Harvard undergraduates, deliver inconsistent performances. Still, some of them, especially the pivotal D'Alessandris, successfully convey their characters' complexities. Few actors these days are willing to portray gay characters, so this troupe deserves commendation for its courage alone...
...with "the heartbeat of the country." For Dukakis, who often seems closer in spirit to Roger Rabbit than Rambo, his mantra was the adjective tough. Whether it was tackling the "tough choices" on domestic spending or the "tough and difficult decisions" on Pentagon weapons, Dukakis used the word to portray himself as possessing the macho fiber to sit in the Oval Office...
...raise those of Dukakis. After slipping up in the first debate, Bush smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be nice to be the Ice Man, so you never make a mistake?" His aides later christened the contest the Nice Man vs. the Ice Man. The idea was to portray Bush's occasional goofiness as engaging, and Dukakis' competence as soulless...