Word: smugness
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...almost nothing in common with the great prosecutors and muckrakers of U.S. history, with Lincoln Steffens or Tom Walsh. Both he and they, however, did more than expose individuals; they exposed systems of corruption. As Harry Truman says, rascals are always around. But as John Williams says, the smug tolerance of rascals is not always around-and that smugness shocks Williams more than the presence of some rascals in Government...
...element of dramatic suspense from the case. But if Ike had done that, it would have sounded like an echo of the Truman "loyalty," the complacent quality in the Administration that has caused what men of both parties recognize as "the mess in Washington." Ike was neither impetuous nor smug about the Nixon crisis. He admitted a real possibility that Nixon might be wrong, but he waited for Nixon's public defense and he was not afraid of the people...
...Short, Smug View. In any field, especially foreign relations, many an American is apt to mistake small gains for big victories and to conclude smugly that the U.S. is improving its position in the world...
Despite the great material prosperity, Americans are not feeling smug. Their grousing may spring from something deeper than the price of steak (or mink). They may sense that the future depends on how the U.S. plays its part in the world crisis and that this, in turn, depends on what goes on inside the U.S. A better American life-and not merely what the Democrats mean by better-could resolve the international deadlock...
Overconfidence beat the Republicans in 1948-and it can beat them again in 1952. Two years ago the Democrats began to slip, and that smug feeling overcame one wing of the Republican Party. The whole Taft candidacy was based on the assumption that millions of voters were panting to vote Republican for the first time...