For many years, leaders on both sides preferred to keep their ties quiet and behind the scenes.

Obviously, the Soviet leader would prefer more support.

The greatest need for this could arise in a downturn, just when leaders would have preferred to lower rates to encourage growth.

All the lords and leaders of Hsien, in the last, would prefer that the Company went away.

Although the military engineered three coups in the last four decades, its leaders prefer to exercise their authority quietly.

In the past their leader had normally preferred to listen to the others first.

The network was centered on info-14, but the leaders prefer to call themselves "Autonomous nationalists."

And of course, that's one of the reasons the leaders prefer to see the budget documents pass unread.

"I'm not sure Michels is the candidate that Republican leaders would have preferred," he said.

Independent voices can spotlight issues that leaders prefer to keep quiet and pressure officials to perform their jobs more effectively.