The leader struck again, a little more swiftly this time.
The compromise, which leaders of both parties struck almost two weeks ago, has met stiff resistance from the left and right of both parties.
The bill moved with startling speed; introduced three days earlier, it sailed through both houses after leaders struck deals to vote without debate.
Standing in the darkness, the leader struck the barrier with a metal object.
A temple where the worshipers approach singing, and their leader struck the ground with his staff.
Both leaders struck one central theme: that Iraqis should run Iraq.
Indeed, political and business leaders struck defiant poses.
That explains why leaders from the Italian President to the Pope struck back this week with indignation, and even threats.
Congressional leaders have struck an acceptable, though troubling, compromise on medical savings accounts that should allow Congress to pass a useful health-care bill.
In the newspapers, too, leaders of Jewish organizations have struck the same theme, urging Italians not to return to their Fascist history.