While there is no evidence that Dr. Chu or Dr. Koonin have represented BP's viewpoints in internal deliberations or sought to influence administration policy in a way that would benefit BP, the mere fact of their shared history brought expressions of concern from environmentalists and other critics of the White House's response to the spill.
The five-member Nobel committee made its decision last week after months of secret deliberations as it sought the right message for a world still dazed by the September 11 terrorist attacks, the war on terrorism that followed and concern about a possible US military strike against Iraq.
A person with knowledge of the committee's deliberations said Mr. LaBarbera had sought to scale back more aggressive advertising attacks that had been under consideration.
All of these elements are absent from the current deliberations as governments seek quick fixes.
Lord Robertson, the NATO secretary general, cited the deployment of the Ababil-100 during NATO's private deliberations last month as he sought to persuade NATO to send Awacs radar planes and Patriot antimissile systems to Turkey, according to a NATO official.
As senators sparred in interviews, op-ed pages and television appearances, the Bush administration sought to keep its deliberations over a potential successor to Sandra Day O'Connor out of public view.
However, inspection of the parameter estimates showed that the regressions of treatment preference on deliberation and information seeking, and the regressions of treatment decision on hospital, decision uncertainty and study-condition were all insignificant (P>0.10).
The principle of respect for autonomy requires that the views of those who are capable of deliberation about their personal goals be sought and respected.
Mr. Bloomberg's deliberations echo those of his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who sought to extend his term as mayor after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
A trove of e-mail messages released on Thursday revealed the deliberations of Mr. Bloomberg's political maestros as they sought to salvage Ms. Black's candidacy.
