THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 16, 2016- Topic 2
Even as protests continue to swirl across the
U.S., the President-elect, Donald Trump, has embarked
on the first and arguably most important project of transitioning to a new
government: picking the White House team that will
carry out his policy agenda. The exercise acquires
added significance given the earthquake-like impact of his election victory on
a variety of constituencies, including different segments of the American
people, and the U.S. Congress. In an ideal world, the team that he picks to run
the White House would have to be capable of helping him balance the deep
anxieties of liberal America with the irresistible demand from his conservative
backers and independent supporters that he deliver on the promises made during
the campaign. His task is more straightforward with regard to Capitol Hill as
both the Senate and the House of Representatives are now controlled by the
Republican Party. However, Mr. Trump’s messy rise through the primaries divided
the party’s leadership over their acceptance of him as their nominee, and thus
this relationship is also in need of healing.
Mr. Trump’s initial stab at West Wing appointments is off to a start that
could be characterised as astute yet polarising. In picking Reince Priebus as
his Chief of Staff, Mr. Trump has signalled to House Speaker Paul Ryan his
desire to put the nastiness of the campaign behind them. Mr. Priebus and Mr.
Ryan are Wisconsin politicians who go back two decades. As the longstanding
head of the Republican National Committee, Mr. Priebus walked a tightrope over
the fraying ties between Mr. Trump and party heavyweights during the darkest
days of the campaign. Having thus proved his organisational acumen and loyalty
to Mr. Trump, it is fitting that Mr. Priebus will soon be tasked with
negotiating with Congress, executive branch agencies, and external political
groups to implement Mr. Trump’s agenda. The other high-profile choice will be
harder to swallow for many: Steve Bannon, the CEO of the Trump campaign and the
former CEO of the “alt-right” media house Breitbart News, as his Chief
Strategist and Senior Counsellor. Under Mr. Bannon, Breitbart was accused of
being racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist and prone to conspiracy theorising. Yet
Mr. Trump has indicated Mr. Bannon and Mr. Priebus will be “equal partners to
transform the federal government”, a possible hint of a plan to create a
multipolar power structure within the White House. Mr. Bannon’s appointment, a
likely nod to the far-right constituencies that were so strongly with him, has
been balanced by a more practical-minded and mainstream-focussed Mr. Priebus.
Other key appointments will provide a clue to which way this balance may tilt.
Vocabulary
Swirl: move in a twisting or spiraling pattern.
Example: The smoke was swirling around him
Synonyms: whirl, eddy, billow, spiral, circulate, revolve, spin, twist
Embarked: go on board a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.
Example: He embarked for India in 1817
Synonyms: board ship, go on board, go aboard, hop on
Anxieties: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically
about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
Example: He felt a surge of anxiety
Synonyms: worry, concern, apprehension, apprehensiveness, uneasiness
Irresistible: too attractive and tempting to
be resisted.
Example: He found the delicious-looking cakes irresistible
Synonyms: enticing, tempting, alluring, inviting, seductive, attractive, desirable
Healing: tending to heal; therapeutic.
Example: A healing experience
Synonyms: alleviate, ease, assuage, palliate, relieve, help, lessen
Stab: a thrust with a knife or other pointed weapon.
Example: Multiple stab wounds
Synonyms: lunge, thrust, jab, poke, prod, dig, punch
Nastiness: the state or quality of being nasty.
Example: The nastiness of the campaign
Synonyms: unpleasantness, disagreeableness, offensiveness, vileness
Tightrope: a rope or wire stretched tightly high above the ground,
on which acrobats perform feats of balancing.
Example: A tightrope walker
Acumen: the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions,
typically in a particular domain.
Example: Business acumen
Synonyms: astuteness, shrewdness, acuity, sharpness, sharp-wittedness
Misogynist: a person who dislikes,
despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women.
Example: They erode the cultural authority of the misogynists who enforce it.
Synonyms: woman-hater, antifeminist, (male) chauvinist, sexist, hater, male
chauvinist pig