1.   Politicians seem to be reluctant to face the issue.

2.   Politicians seem to work on the assumption that the early bird catches the voter.

3.   American politicians seem very good at deciding what the moral compass is, except in their own affairs.

4.   At best, politicians seem like canny tacticians, twisting in the gusts of opinion polls and focus groups.

5.   At the same time, Brown said, U.S. politicians seem to be moving against environmental protection.

6.   Because Baker is big on Beacon Hill, most politicians seem willing to give him time to work out financial problems without asking too many questions.

7.   But politicians seem impervious to common sense and logic.

8.   But U.S. politicians seem to think that it is easier to make foreign policy subservient to electoral tactics and dependent on old politico-military tools.

9.   But when the politicians seem powerless against property owners who want to develop their land, coalition members say, people must seize any slender reed.