As a candidate for various offices, Nixon had learned that a wound to the image could sometimes prove mortal to its subject's chances for success — something that not only politicians but corporations, movie stars, publications, religious groups, revolutionary groups, and many others had found out from bitter experience.
Connecticut finally proved mortal.
In the days before Duane Reade, it might have proved mortal.
Turkmenistan had a self-styled "President for Life", who proved mortal in 2006.
Castro, one of the world's best-known and most controversial leaders, survived countless US assassination attempts and premature obituaries, but in the end proved mortal and died late on Friday night after a long battle with illness.
There is strong cause to wonder whether those with a long history of tolerance for what once was referred to as "the great experiment in Russia" are philosophically and ideologically capable of coming to grips with communism now that communism has become our proven mortal enemy.
It was not the end of the streak at Doral that stayed with me, or the fact that Woods proved mortal again at the Masters three weeks later, finishing in second place, three strokes behind Trevor Immelman, thus dashing slam fantasies for 2008.
The National Religious Party, a key partner in the coalition, called on the prime minister to rescind his opposition to an American developer's plans for a Jewish housing estate at Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem.But, in the longer term, the bombing could prove a mortal blow to the already weakened Mr Netanyahu.
The savior proved mighty mortal.
But after two free throws by Othella Harrington (9 points, 12 rebounds) put the Knicks ahead, 91-88, Jordan, so often a superhero in the Garden, proved merely mortal.
Japan's Kohei Uchimura, the only man to win three back-to-back world all-around championships, took his expected Olympic title only after proving himself mortal: Britain's Kristian Thomas beat him in qualifying.
