Old, discredited status quo politics and new realities make for strange bedfellows.

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But the talk here is not about BP's internal politics or its financial status, it is about oil and getting back to work.

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The company needs someone that's not entrenched, an outsider with little interest in pandering to internal big company politics and the post-Zander status quo.

ENGADGET: Motorola's cellphone business needs a new leader: okay, I'm in.

People want leaders (in politics or businesses) who display power, status, and confidence.

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Obama's supporters say that his outsider status and recent exposure to national politics make him an ideal choice for instituting change.

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Another reason why the status quo on farm policy may prevail: fragmented politics.

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Not surprisingly, its status with the mainland has become a factor in its own internal politics.

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Clinton avoided presidential politics, devoting a half-hour speech at the annual Women in the World conference in New York to the status of women across the globe.

WSJ: Hillary Clinton's every public move generates buzz