Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hiromichi]

I like the captioned sentence to be rewritten to an easier English.


The stack of books devoted to the inner workings of the Bush administration -- especially the disputes -- got a bit taller with the release of Bob Woodward's ''State of Denial.'' In it, Mr. Woodward describes officials in lock step on policy in public, but locking horns in private. The administration has denied many of the many books' claims, both the reported policy disagreements and the more personal ones, particularly in ''State of Denial.''
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Hiromichi

[redset]

Lock step is when people (such as soldiers) march together, they all raise their legs to step forward at the same time, so they never kick each other. So being in lock step means that people are all together, in agreement, acting and talking as part of a team with the same purpose.

You could rephrase the sentence as "Mr Woodward says that the officials appear to share the same views on policy in public (such as talking to the media), but they actually fight over disagreements in private (like in meetings)."

[hiromichi]

redset: Thank you for your clear explanation. I got it! Thank you.
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Hiromichi