Word: straussed
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Vast sections of Carter's Administration are sleepwalking, drifting through time until the decision. Hundreds of people right up to Cabinet level are expecting to be swept out of power no matter what the outcome. Even Carter Campaign Manager Robert Strauss jokes (sort of) that come Nov. 4, his influence will be nil with or without victory. What also is quietly acknowledged is that Carter's Government is in terrible disarray in important areas...
...bishops got into the act with a hortatory pastoral letter intended to be read in their churches on Sunday. Without naming a candidate or party, the letter inveighed against the expanding role of the state, the burgeoning federal bureaucracy and the growth of the national debt-all themes of Strauss's campaign. The bishops also criticized Schmidt's government for making divorce and abortion too easy. While denying undue influence, the church, which is especially strong in Strauss's native Bavaria, thus appeared to be intervening in an effort to shore up Strauss's fortunes. Schmidt...
...nearly ideal embodiment of the leadership qualities West Germans seek: confidence, firmness and statesmanship-not to mention telegenic good looks. In campaign speeches to large, lustily cheering crowds, he proudly points to the country's healthy economy, its fervent commitment to detente, and its enhanced international stature. Strauss, he warns, would "squander" these hard-won achievements...
...contrast, Strauss's image is his biggest liability and provokes intense reactions. Beloved in Bavaria, the heartland of German conservatism, he is not just disliked but often detested nearly everywhere else. A highly intelligent man who was an exceedingly capable Defense and Finance Minister, he is nonetheless regarded as a hard-lining cold warrior. His bulldog appearance is caricatured almost daily. His rallies are beset by hecklers who hurl rotten eggs and tomatoes. Strauss's efforts to improve his image have backfired, leaving an impression of uncertainty and artificiality rather than statesmanship...
Early in the evening came the world premiere of David Del Tredici's Happy Voices. The composer may have intended a bravura show for the orchestra, but his garish, repetitive work was more like a Richard Strauss waltz heard in a nightmare. When Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No.1, with Rudolf Serkin as soloist, followed, the listener was prepared for old-fashioned piano busting. Instead, the instrument could scarcely be heard except in solo passages and in a lyrical dialogue between the cellos and the piano...