Word: prudent
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...Bush, a man most comfortable with the prudent and predictable, the desire to give ballast to the wildly careening events of recent weeks may have been one reason he arrived in Malta with a long list of concrete proposals. Bush also seemed determined to prove to public opinion in the U.S. and Europe that the American President was just as committed to building the peace as his popular Soviet counterpart...
...question the fairness of Rifkin's angriest assaults on scientists as mad magicians and unethical disciples of Dr. Strangelove. When Rifkin is most successful, he may slow basic research, delay a medical advance, perhaps even damage the economy. Still, it is a small price to pay for the prudent utilization of the powers of science. "It's critical for these things to be done," he says of his work. "Nothing's going to stop it. They'll have to shoot me. They're going to have to deal with me for the next 30 years...
...meeting in the Med will bring together the most daring of all Soviet leaders and one of the most cautious American Presidents. Mikhail Gorbachev frequently, and proudly, describes his approach to the world as "radical," while George Bush's favorite word when he talks about foreign policy is prudent. Yet Bush has come a long way in his thinking about the Soviet Union. In a matter of months, his Administration has gone from viewing Gorbachev as a slickly disguised variant of the old red menace to a potential partner in creating a new world order...
Thus, in one curious and ironic respect, the Administration is back to square one. It has traded its skepticism about Gorbachev's intentions for pessimism about his chances. That leaves the Administration, at least in its own eyes, still stuck with a dilemma about what prudent American policy should be. The strong inclination remains to wait and see, to test, to keep its powder dry and to be ready for someone other than Mikhail Sergeyevich...
Raising this skepticism is probably, to use Bush's favorite word, prudent. After all, what if Gorbachev is indeed merely pursuing by more subtle means the old Soviet goals of getting the U.S. to withdraw from Europe, dissolving NATO and neutralizing Germany? Even so, as Baker points out, it would still make sense for the U.S. to "lock in" gains by helping Soviet bloc nations become more independent and by securing agreements that make mutually beneficial arms reductions. In addition, the changes in Eastern Europe have progressed so far that a sudden reversal becomes less likely every...