11.   He is both a genuine maverick thinker and a shrewd political operator, and therefore a source of fascination and bewilderment, even to himself.

12.   Helped substantially by a cooperating economy, he has emerged as a shrewd political operator.

13.   Nick Baldick, a veteran political operator who is running the Democratic campaign in Florida, gave an identical assessment.

14.   The White House says it can find no record that Clinton actually made the calls outlined in a memo to him from his ubiquitous political operator, Harold Ickes.

15.   Then there is Travelgate, which is still perplexing to some political operators as to how, and why, it became such a major, negative political issue.

16.   Will Putin act as someone beholden to the likes of the shady businessman and political operator Boris Berezovsky, or will he take the risk of challenging their power?

17.   While the king is the symbolic center of the nation, he has not been much of a political operator.

18.   Although forced from office by riots and protests last year, he is still regarded by many as a key behind-the-scenes political operator.

19.   Critics said a stronger, more seasoned political operator was needed in the post overseeing national security and sensitive political negotiations.

20.   Fischer, a hard-nosed political operator, wants to broaden that mainstream appeal and make the Greens a potential partner in Bonn.