1.   A good cabinet officer will take a policy proposal, put a trial balloon out.

2.   Although his aides portrayed the speech as adding more substance to his message, Alexander offers no new policy proposals.

3.   At a meeting last month, Mr Alvarez presented some policy proposals, which have been politely ignored.

4.   Proposals over and above the levels so indicated constitute new policy proposals.

5.   They also have to mediate among interest groups affected by policy proposals.

6.   All too often, he added, policy proposals seem to be crafted by out-of-state pollsters with an eye on November.

7.   And Republicans and Democrats alike are considering detailed policy proposals that presume long-term budget forecasts from the White House and Congress prove uncharacteristically accurate.

8.   And so we should always be thankful when an important politician makes a really bad policy proposal.

9.   At one level, he is trying to draw substantive distinctions between his policy proposals and those of his Republican opponent.