He is carping from weakness, not strength, and knows he cannot overdo his criticism.

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It's an idea that comes from a leader dealing from strength, not weakness.

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Unlikely: Mr Prabhakaran has vowed not to negotiate from a position of weakness.

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It also underscores the buyers knew the Times, whose stock is near its 52-week low, was selling FSG from a position of weakness because the newspaper has not been performing well and has been trying to raise cash.

FORBES: New York Times Sale Values Fenway Sports Group At Just $1.5 Billion

But Bush and Dole were older gents, from a generation that considered reticence a virtue and self-exposure a weakness--not, in other words, town-meeting material.

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Indeed, whatever problems Sri Lanka's political system suffers from, the weakness of the presidency, which is already directly responsible for over 90 institutions, is not one of them.

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka's constitutional amendment