Despite the massive rebellions in Tony Blair's second term on such issues as Iraq, foundation hospitals and top-up fees, there has been no collapse in party discipline.

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Despite the efforts of legislators to resolve the thornier issues--such as making sure that a woman's decision to have an abortion is not influenced by the idea that her fetus's tissue may help a victim of Parkinson's disease--the current calm in public attitudes may well be fleeting.

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Despite the president's comments today, Congress is expected to pay scant attention to issues such as energy or taxes.

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He added that incidents involving structural building issues such as the last two factory accidents were "not common" in Cambodia, despite worries about poor working conditions in the country.

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This is despite the fact that there are plenty of tough issues to which the best possible leadership needs to be applied, such as unemployment, economic development, housing, immigration, education, energy, environmental protection, deficit reduction, and so forth.

FORBES: Time for Crisis Leadership -- After the Crisis