At a personal front he is simple, honest, hard working, high on energy, mature political brinkmanship, easily approachable and sociable in nature.

And as this year's debate about the nation's debt showed, nothing is off limits to the political brinkmanship that has come to dominate Washington.

Some officials expressed hope that the withholding of the state's mandated payments would prove to be little more than political brinkmanship.

If it is just another act of political brinkmanship, that should become clear within a few weeks.

But Republicans have dismissed such talk as political brinkmanship.

Amid all the victory pronouncements today, no one raised the issue of whether the political brinkmanship had served the public.

But this was Albany, where political brinkmanship is a way of life.

Mr. Qurei's political brinkmanship is not uncommon in Palestinian politics.

The move escalated a game of political brinkmanship, with higher property taxes as the stakes.

While members of the two boards have been concerned about their own loss of power under the restructuring, the governor has engaged in political brinkmanship.