The Liberal Democrats have avoided taking a clear stand on the agreement because they have tried to keep the support of farmers and big business, traditionally the party's two biggest supporters.
The Communist Party has managed to keep the support of its most market-oriented citizens.
It is important, says one manager, to keep the support of the staff.
But before then dozens of Labour candidates are trying to keep the support of men and women not unlike Duffy.
But at the same time he has to keep the support of the leftish Democratic Party base, which wants to see a more expansive and costly set of reforms.
Still, Mr. Kozlowski apparently kept the support of Tyco's board until this weekend, when directors learned of the seriousness of the investigation into his art purchases.
It has not helped Mr Fukuda keep the support of his New Komeito allies; with Buddhist roots, the party has a pacifist bent.
"Let me tell you, the only way we can do this and keep the support of NATO is to clearly identify the tentacles, and then the octopus, and then the ink-squirter itself, and then gather it all together and say, 'Here they are, and are you ready for what will really be a total military assault,' " said former Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming.
In trying to regain popularity and keep the support of the real power in Iranian politics, the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, how useful to be able to shake his fist at the US, or to disarm US critics with a display of wit and quick thinking.
Mr. Bush's emphasis on being a "compassionate conservative" and caring about education spoke to married women, Ms. Lake said, while his toughness on the military and on crime -- and the continuing executions of condemned prisoners in Texas -- have helped him keep the support of men.
