Sentence examples for merely tough from inspiring English sources

Is our hyper-critical 24/7 political culture creating robotic leaders, merely tough enough to withstand the heat and always too busy to talk?

So today Mr. Obama opened by denying a story that an adviser had sent back-door messages to the Canadian government, assuring them that the candidate was talking merely tough about the North American Free Trade Agreement in order to win votes in the midwest.

And the PB is more than merely tough; it is transportable.

Proponents of reform, pointing to the experience of red states like Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Utah that have directed low-level offenders to treatment programs rather than prison, say it has become safer for politicians to be "smart on crime" rather than merely tough.

Is he a protectionist or a free trader who merely talks tough?

It was unclear whether Mr. Sadr, as some Shiite leaders suggested, was merely talking tough to cover an inevitable retreat.

If Merkel is determined not to give an inch, as opposed to merely talking tough, it is a new game.

"D.H.S. has replaced old policies that merely looked tough with new policies that remove convicted criminals and make our streets safer," he said.

He was seen as a man with no political connections or axe to grind, merely a tough former commando, a hands-on soldier.

Madsen's film does not merely ask tough questions about the implications of nuclear energy – now enjoying a fashionable renaissance as the burning of fossil-fuels becomes increasingly unacceptable – but about how we, as a race, conceive our own future.

This could indicate customer churn, or merely a tough market for cloud products.