Mr. Bush kept his counsel then, and did so again in October, when he was attacked for not more vigorously backing an anti-Noriega coup that failed.

CBS vigorously backed Wright, a scenario that ensnared Nantz in an on-air defense with an angry Wright beside him.

He also vigorously backed incentive pay programs and the establishment of better housing facilities for servicemen.

Yet politicians and industry leaders are vigorously backing into the future with standards, tests and accountability as their mantra.

These include construction of a new Manhattan tunnel that would connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal, a project backed vigorously by Governor Pataki.

The Eisenhower Administration now vigorously backed Chiang Kai-shek, signing a mutual-defense treaty with him in 1954, and threatening China with a nuclear strike the following year.

Party leaders in some of the boroughs dismissed Mr. Vallone's concerns, even though they are vigorously backing a slate of candidates with endorsements to help influence voters.

For six years, the White House vigorously backed Israeli hard-liners and refused to engage seriously in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thus nurturing anti-Americanism and religious fundamentalism.

As Presidents, Ronald Reagan and George Bush vigorously backed nuclear power.

John R. Bolton, the departing United States ambassador, left no doubt what the American hopes were for Mr. Ban, whom Washington backed vigorously.