Word: clouts
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...renowned for his straightforward talk and capacity to cut through to the basics. "He gets to the core of issues quickly," says one associate, "and then doesn't leave them till they're settled." But his greatest strength, says another, is that "he knows when to use clout and when to listen." For instance, when talking to Menachem Begin, who tends to obscure issues with lengthy digressions, Habib will tenaciously steer the conversation back to the central topic. "He doesn't take opening positions too seriously but as a point of departure from which to make some...
...brief himself on the specifics of foreign problems and straighten out the tangled lines of authority in policymaking. It may take until mid-July before his nomination is confirmed by the Senate. Haig has said that he will stay on until then, but he will obviously have no clout. And events may not wait for the transition, as the Israeli bombs and shells falling on West Beirut all too starkly demonstrated last week...
Despite her tough-minded, critical approach to her job, Kirkpatrick has made few practical changes that might give the U.S. more clout. She is often behind schedule, and her staff once kept Soviet U.N. Ambassador Oleg Troyanovsky cooling his heels in the lobby of the U.S. mission for 15 minutes. In another embarrassing incident, her entourage attended a North Korean diplomatic reception by mistake, thinking it was hosted by South Koreans. Morale has been so poor that two key staffers have quit in the past year, partly as a result of Kirkpatrick's lack of concern for administrative detail...
...most puissant Mafia family. His son Charley is underboss and chief enforcer for the family, a geratic Brooklyn Mob headed by Corrado Prizzi, 84. Charley, the anti-hero of Prizzi's Honor, is somewhat deficient in the paternal paranoia that has helped earn the gang international clout and an annual gross income of $1.7 billion. However, he took out his first Prizzi foe when he was only 13, and has been earning great respect ever since. He is unswervingly loyal, has a voice like "a talking brewery horse" and boasts "the best bowels of anyone in the Prizzi family...
...sentiment as to have pasted himself into a corner. There were others at hand, quite prepared to oust him if his venture failed. Among the admirals were men of much more fascist temper than he. The air force generals, long in second place to the admirals, were gaining in clout. Galtieri had to succeed. How could he withdraw-and survive...