However, the main reason why Labour has found it hard to mount a convincing assault is that the Tory plans to restrain public-spending growth are so modest.
Even if the stipulated cuts in future spending somehow manage to stick, they will be so modest that it may end up being a case of winning a battle while losing the war against runaway federal spending.
And while snakeheads have indeed popped up in half a dozen states besides Maryland, they've done so in modest numbers.
So why is the Washington establishment so dismissive of modest legislation?
FORBES: A daunting policy problem demands more modest solutions.
At present, says Dr Demkowicz, reactors burn only around 1% of their fuel, so even a modest increase in fuel burn would leave less radioactive waste.
In a recent Forrester report, we found that PC cannibalization from tablets has been modest so far but is likely to increase in the next 6 to 12 months.
Under Arizona law, they can sell their slot-machine rights to another tribe, and so receive a modest income from the Salt River Pima, who enjoy a better location near Phoenix.
In December 2010 a report laid out details of modest progress so far.
Early adopters say they've so far seen only modest results, and generally not until after they've established a loyal-fan following.
But both national and local officials fear that the resulting job losses would cause instability, so progress has been modest.
Some 74% of U.S. employers already offer employee wellness programs, but these have had only a modest effect so far, because few employees have chosen to participate.
But the researchers say that while longer QT interval is a risk factor for abnormal heart rhythms, these abnormal rhythms are still extremely rare, and the actual increase in QT observed was modest - so for the vast majority of patients, the potential benefits in treating depression or anxiety would far exceed the risk.
There are times when nothing so becomes a politician as modest stillness and humility.
He did so by appealing to the modest aspirations of the poor, middle class and university students.
So we tried to be modest in what we thought we could accomplish.
WHITEHOUSE: President Obama at Copenhagen Climate Change Conference
And wedding festivities are much more modest with cash so tight.
In fact the stimulus's contribution so far has been relatively modest.
And so this is just one modest way for us to say to all of you, thank you for the enormous contributions you make to the country.
And so, young people of modest means, who are interested in going to college, this gives them an opportunity to serve and at the same time, pay for their college education.
The only restrictions proposed so far in Congress are modest: barring guns from events involving senior officials, for example, or prohibiting magazines capable of holding more than ten bullets (the one that Mr Loughner is alleged to have used carried 30).
ECONOMIST: America is plunged into mourning and political acrimony
Instead of the middle class paying more, we should ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more, a modest amount, so that we can reduce our deficit and still make investments in things like education that help our economy grow.
WHITEHOUSE: President Obama on Extending Middle-Class Tax Breaks
Roy was an extremely modest person who did so much good work for the people of Norfolk which he would never mention.
So far these have involved only modest steps, such as turning more state land over to individual farming and official recognition that foreign investors can pay higher wages.
Now those fads are regarded with (rueful) nostalgia, and Americans are ploughing their money into real estate, with expectations of recouping a modest 20% or so a year on their investment.
So, here is my "modest" solution to the debt crisis: Other nations should forgive large portions of our debt in exchange for all the "free" global defense we have given the world over the last 95 years.
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