Word: arcana
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Barack Obama wasn't the only winner to emerge from last year's historic presidential race. Chuck Todd has surged to TV prominence and Beltway influence since being tapped as NBC's political director in 2007. For millions of NBC and MSNBC viewers, Todd's analysis of election arcana, especially during the drawn-out Democratic primary, was an invaluable guidebook on the campaign trail. Recently named NBC's chief White House correspondent, Todd has written a book on the race along with NBC's Sheldon Gawiser, How Barack Obama Won. He spoke with TIME about where the media's election...
...Yankees won often, but won with grace. Their players, with few exceptions, respected the tradition reflected in their pinstripes, and eschewed the showboating, sleaze, and unshaven slovenliness common among other teams. Yankee management never passed over into that netherworld of statistics and other alchemical arcana; rather, they continued to rely on what had always worked: character and heart. The Stadium, their home in the Bronx, stood firm for what was best about the sport, as other, lesser teams floated aimlessly in a sea of unchecked change...
...ordering is obtuse (the King George snippet comes under I for "I want to know" and not, say, K for King George) but it really doesn't matter where the book falls open - this is a work for dipping. Cricket lovers will be contentedly stroking chins over such arcana as the number of first-class appearances Bradman made before his first test (nine) or the highest number of consecutive test innings against England in which he did not score a century...
Americans not versed in financial-market arcana can be forgiven for scratching their heads at all this and wondering what the heck is happening and what it means for them. Here are a few answers...
...Getting an agreement meant resolving squabbles, often driven by weak national governments trying to score domestic political points, over numerous obscure protocols, declarations, opt-ins and opt-outs. Among the arcana: How exactly does one count seats in the European Parliament? How much power should national parliaments have to trump legislation at the E.U. level? And can a member state freeze unfavorable legislation even if outvoted by its counterparts...