The most recent dust-up occurred over Seymour's approval of a plan to build 68 homes on part of a 167-acre parcel, with 54 more homes to possibly follow, in the Skokorat section, near the Bethany border.

In a recent dust-up with Tucker Carlson on CNN's "Crossfire," Mr. Stewart defended a soft interview he conducted with John Kerry.

Mrs. Ambrosino, a teacher from Reston, Va., said the recent dust-up would not affect the decision of her daughter, Christine, whether to apply in the fall.

A resident of Gulf Breeze, Fla., Mr. Bentley said the recent dust-up over Mr. Kerry's service reignited the anger he felt toward veterans who opposed the war.

Neither man (nor his publicity person) is commenting on how the recent dust-up has affected their relationship.

That's not exactly true: fellow senators and staff members cite more recent dust-ups involving profanities, red-faced exchanges and quick-trigger reactions.

Take another recent dust-up: At the governors conference, Mrs. Whitman was quoted as saying, "I don't see children starving in New Jersey."

The recent dust-up over Republican attempts to gerrymander the Texas Congressional map had an overlay of old-fashioned political silliness and skulduggery.

"There are few companies in the world where the culture of an organization isn't set at the top," Cuban wrote on Friday, in response to an e-mail message seeking comment on his recent dust-up with authority figures.

"My husband had looked at the mail and thought a guy flick was coming in, and it's a chick flick," Ms. Newton said of a recent dust-up.