1.   Democrats described the bill as unnecessary and a blatant effort to intimidate Hispanic voters, who traditionally side with them at the polls.

2.   He financed a book tour and talked about his mother wherever he went, comparing her to Elizabeth Short in a blatant effort to draw attention to his book.

3.   It was seen as a blatant effort to diffuse an issue that might hurt his brother.

4.   Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said the maneuver to undermine Noble was a blatant effort by Republicans to influence an independent agency.

5.   The movie is an unusually blatant effort to portray Jiang the way he wants to be seen, as a relaxed, witty statesman of the top rank.

6.   On Wednesday, legal experts said criminal antitrust investigations commonly focus on price-fixing or unusually blatant efforts among rivals to divide customers or markets.