1.   Before the publication of the new draft, the Bush administration had appeared to show greater flexibility in its negotiating stance.

2.   I seem to recall reading that John Stockton spoke up at a player gathering several weeks ago, suggesting a more conciliatory negotiating stance, and was shouted down.

3.   In response, the administration noted that its proposal was closer to the Israeli position than the Palestinian negotiating stance.

4.   In the past year or so, he said, city lawyers have adopted a much tougher negotiating stance in misconduct cases and are offering much smaller settlements.

5.   Officials from the Andean Pact will meet next week in Lima to discuss a common negotiating stance in anticipation of the Montevideo summit, Rojas Parra said.

6.   Setting their removal as a condition for peace, as the draft constitution seems to do, appears to represent a bold negotiating stance.

7.   The chances of that happening are strictly up to the Red Sox, whose previous negotiating stance alienated the burly first baseman.

8.   The Democratic television ads were widely credited with deflecting criticism from Silver, who had not budged from his original negotiating stance, and refocusing it on the Republicans.

9.   While Johnson is taking his hard-line negotiating stance, insisting his team is fine without Webb, the players who surround that empty locker tell a different story.