Word: pragmatist
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Montazeri's appointment caused some unease in Tehran's ruling circles, where there are sharp divisions on how to manage the country's stagnant economy. Montazeri is the youngest of Iran's handful of Grand Ayatullahs and has an undistinguished reputation as a religious scholar. Considered more of a pragmatist than Khomeini, Montazeri is also said to lack his mentor's charisma and oratorical skills. The timing of the announcement did not appear to coincide with any worsening of Khomeini's health. Last Saturday the Ayatullah stood in public for 30 minutes to deliver a speech marking the Prophet Muhammad...
...democracy that depends on the informed intelligence of the citizenry for sound government and an efficient economy. Lawrence Cranberg Austin, Texas, U.S. Eyes on Iran Joe Klein's column " Iran's Pragmatic Face" [May 30] referred to former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as "a dealmaking pragmatist [who] may push to repair ties with the U.S. " Viewing Rafsanjani as pragmatic is dangerous, since that is an example of seeing the political landscape of totalitarian countries through the U.S.'s democratic eyes. Rafsanjani is pragmatic in comparison with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei in the same way that...
...make the case for his journey to the Rafsanjani camp. He described the reform era as "a flailing moment, not a movement" and said its legacy was to illustrate the clerical regime's insurmountable power structure. Rafsanjani, Tavana said, is a player within the system and a powerful pragmatist and can be more effective than the current President, who holds lofty ideals but has been reduced to a lame-duck opposition figure. I asked Tavana whether he felt conflicted about working for Rafsanjani, who has been criticized by human-rights activists for allegedly ignoring the killing of dissidents in Europe...
...With the reformists sidelined, the more important political cleavage now is between hardliners and pragmatists within conservative ranks. Khameini is said to disapprove of the policies of leading pragmatist candidate Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former speaker of parliament who might have drawn "lesser-evil" backing from reformist voters if they lacked a candidate of their own. Allowing the reformists to run potentially splits Rafsanjani's vote, improving the chances of hard-liners. Even if the reformers win, the Khatami years have proven that the clerical bodies controlled by the conservatives trump the power of the presidency. The Supreme Leader is also...
...appointment by Dwight Eisenhower, he began earning a reputation as "the best coalition builder ever to sit on the Supreme Court," says L.A. Scot Powe Jr., a University of Texas law professor and former clerk to Justice William O. Douglas. Brennan has never relinquished the role. A dedicated pragmatist, the onetime New Jersey labor lawyer now uses his negotiating skills to bring the shifting middle of the court--Harry Blackmun, Lewis Powell and Byron White--closer to the liberal corner that he shares with Thurgood Marshall and often John Paul Stevens. A hesitating colleague is likely to be asked, "Would...