To achieve a fullstanding objective method of historical research is neither possible nor desirable in the view of Robin Collingwood (Clausen 1968, p35).

His name was Henderland; he spoke with the broad south-country tongue, which I was beginning to weary for the sound of; and besides common countryship, we soon found we had a more particular bond of interest.

Given that there is an average on-hold time of more than five minutes while enquiries are being dealt with, the telephone hold system provided the best opportunity.

House Republicans had an additional worry. For all their Sturm und Drang, few provisions of the Contract With America had actually made their way into law. And their leadership had committed a serious tactical error when it shut down the federal government during a November 1995 budget dispute with the White House, a maneuver that backfired when the public blamed the Republicans, rather than Bill Clinton, for the fiasco.