Word: trivializes
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Some of Carter's attempts to humanize the presidency are either merely symbolic or trivial, but the attitude is nonetheless refreshing. In one respect, at least, it will help to establish a presidential precedent. Carter intends to go on calling himself Jimmy, not James Earl Jr. It was Jimmy Carter who signed bills, and vetoed some, as Governor of Georgia. It was Jimmy who slogged through 30 primaries. And it was Jimmy whose name was on the ballot in all 50 states on Nov. 2, even though he had to sue the state of Maine to keep it that...
...allowing juvenile delinquents to perform alternative service and improving social conditions in general, the main impact of Wilson's statements is directed towards putting more people in jail, earning him the nickname "Captain Lock 'em Up." In Thinking About Crime he suggests that ideally "every conviction for a non-trivial offense would entail a penalty that involved a deprivation of liberty." Wilson includes a wide latitude of programs in "deprivation"; with society's present options, however, most convicted criminals would end up in jail, not rehabilitation or treatment centers...
Several matters-relatively trivial but taken as clues to his character-became major news events and cost him support. Perhaps most damaging were his comments to Playboy about lust and his description of Lyndon Johnson as a liar and cheater, for which he publicly apologized to Lady Bird Johnson...
...months pass by, the reporters tire of campaign's sameness, and seek the unusual. They pounce on blunders, magnify the trivial and sometimes distort as much as they clarify. For this they may be understood but not wholly forgiven. This election year has witnessed press criticism of a campaign alternatively termed petty, banal and issueless; the irony is that the objects of criticism were often of the media's own creation...
...IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNETS, the trivial assumes the guise of seriousness: a man's name takes on more significance than his character, a good profile is equated with good principles and the allocation of food--in this case, muffins and cucumber sandwiches--becomes a major social issue. It is therefore not totally inappropriate that in this production Merriman, the manservant, should get the biggest laughs of the night by doing a pretty fair imitation of Lurch from The Addams Family. But it certainly doesn't speak well for the rest of the Leverett House cast, who have at their disposal...