They may serve a vital oversight role, but they also impose costs of trust management and may hinder the smooth administration of a trust.

FORBES: Trust Protectors: Coming Out of the Woodwork

Correspondents say Israeli leaders want to get off to a smooth start with the new administration in Washington.

BBC: Scale of Gaza destruction emerges

His team has been in close contact with the Bush administration to pave the way for a smooth handover of power.

BBC: US jobless rate at 14-year high

But they might think that calm now, smooth and honest elections later, and an effective administration, no matter whose, would be better than continuing mayhem, whose cost is already reaching the shores of the United States in the form of drugs and refugees.

ECONOMIST: Haiti

The administration's measured response paved the way for the current smooth relationship.

ECONOMIST: The Bush reshuffle

National Security Adviser Condoeezza Rice had already warned EU ambassadors that the Kyoto process was dead as far as the new U.S. administration is concerned, but there has been little effort to smooth the rejection process diplomatically.

CNN: Bush facing clash over climate

The decision to issue an apology now was driven in large part by administration concerns about those mounting costs, as well as the realization that a smooth and timely withdrawal of heavy equipment from Afghanistan would depend on using land routes through Pakistan, U.S. officials said.

WSJ: U.S. Apologizes to Pakistan, Says Supply Routes to Reopen

The Obama administration, just two weeks on the job, had been lauded for running a smooth transition process and filling Cabinet posts early.

FORBES: Magazine Article