We will never return to the old smoke-filled rooms that managed to produce balanced tickets and satisfy diverse constituencies, but maybe it's time to rethink the current system.

Meanwhile some of those on the list are not considered serious contenders but rather are there to satisfy various constituencies, to beef up resumes or for other political and personal purposes.

But the effort to satisfy moderate and conservative constituencies alike, and help ensure a peaceful convention, carried political risks of its own.

By removing existing restrictions on Cuban-Americans seeking to visit the island or send money to help their relatives, he satisfies several political constituencies.

The effort to satisfy competing constituencies in lower Manhattan may have left two incumbents in the lurch.

Mr. Tsongas refused to alter his positions to satisfy different constituencies.

But recognizing that he must satisfy different constituencies, including business leaders who depend upon revenues from tourism, he defended the city's current approach.

Mr. Bush's lack of interest in a political quick fix that might play well in a particular state or satisfy certain constituencies also shows that he is mindful of history.

These lessons are also taught through translators, and some seem more intended to satisfy political constituencies abroad than to improve Iraq.

Much of what occurred during the planning stage-which Egbert (1981) describes "as a time of haste and confusion"-was an attempt to satisfy constituencies of both perspectives (p. 9).