He backed away from his promise not to raise taxes, and set off a flurry of complaints by floating a short-lived proposal to raise property taxes in low-income neighborhoods.

Even Gov. Gray Davis seems to be backing away from his promise that rates would not rise.

"Bush is going to have a hard time backing away from his promise of "benchmarks." "

Mikheyev had been paid handsomely for the ambitious plan, and now, just minutes from his drop, he was trying to back away from his promise.

Steven Hoffenberg, the prospective new publisher, said yesterday that he was not backing away from his promise to buy the newspaper.

Mr. Gore's spokeswoman, Marla Romash, said today that the Vice President was not backing away from his promise.

Let it not be said that thousands more Iraqis died needlessly because America walked away from its promise of health clinics with less than 15 percent of the job done.

I wanted away from the graves and their promise of power.

Supporters of abortion rights hailed Mr. Clinton's move, but opponents of abortion said he was moving away from his promise to make abortion "safe, legal and rare."

But Crimea's new President has backed away from his promise to hold a referendum on seceding from Ukraine.