Word: riff
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...sense, the trend provides an interesting riff on a chord that theorists of democracy have long been playing, one that dates back to none other than Socrates. In the Republic, Socrates describes for his companions what he terms the Democratic Man, a figure who panders shamelessly to public whim and so wins its approval. To my mind, what is distinct about our American democracy is not that we have these Democratic Men--for we have legions of them--rather it is that thing to which our Democratic Men (and Women) so often pander, namely, our hunger for a great leader...
...ROUND 5: Gore did OK on the campaign finance question and the one about kids being exposed to sex and violence. (Why didn't W. praise Tipper? It woulda been a home run and preempted Al.) His praise of McCain was a good riff. And so was Bush's riff about more civility on Washington. The ideal candidate would have found a way to fuse both messages...
...Bush did well on the affirmative action question, I thought. And Gore's response was OK. Clinton woulda blown them both out of the water with a big riff on bringing people together. It might have all been pablum but he would have done it better...
...ROUND 4: Bush wakes up! When it came to the tax cut question, W. was at his best - cogent, clear. His riff on Gore picking winners and losers and having to hire all kinds of new IRS agents - well, that was good stuff. But in the two-way shots, where Bush is waiting for Gore to finish his answer, he keeps sighing and smirking and looking around. Try the decaf! Still, this has been W.'s best moment...
ROUND 5: Bush did a lot better on that tax question and he did fine on the education stuff. But, jeez, he still seems off his game - not the charmer of Midland but the Boston Mangler. He had a nice riff complimenting James Lee Witt, Clinton's head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. It looked big, gracious. Gore, of course, like a machine calculating that he had to be nice, too, came back and complimented Bush's handling of Texas's fire woes. Then Gore had to take credit for making FEMA a better agency. Gore is just...