By summer 2009, with the country still stunned by economic crisis and Republicans falsely raising the specter of death panels, some aides practically begged the president to scale back, take interim steps and move on to other issues.
But corps and local government officials say that the odds of such a disaster are extremely small, and that they have taken interim steps to reduce the risk, like preparing evacuation plans and limiting how much water can be stored behind the dam to less than two-thirds of the maximum.
"I just hope they say that, while the evidence isn't all in yet, they will take interim steps to protect the public".
UVA often took interim steps to support a survivor, the Education Department said, but did not go far enough to ensure no one else on campus experienced continued harassment related to the incidents reported to the school.
These experts argue that the Oslo peace process allowed both sides to keep jockeying for advantage, by taking only interim steps and pushing off the toughest questions.
She thought about taking the gun to the police, "but a little voice inside me said 'Dad's going to be mad at me,' so I took an interim step," she explained.
Rather than grasping for a solution, the administrator may take the interim step of "deciding" how to proceed.
Take an interim step and talk to your new boss, and try to find a solution that allows you to stay where you are, at least for a while.
In the wake of Scott Kalitta's recent fatal accident, the National Hot Rod Association took an interim step, reducing the length of top fuel and funny car races from 1,320 feet to 1,000.
