Political Phrases I'm Ready to Hear Retired

So I don't want to talk (much) about Palin, mostly because she seems placed as just about the worst part of every form of conservatism that's out there, wrapped up in a neat package. It seems to me, honestly, that there's not much she could have done wrong tonight - it was an introductory speech and as long as she didn't say anything openly inflammatory, spit on anyone, or have her pants come down, it would be viewed as a success.

But I would like to call time-out on a few phrases that have been overused in the recent political memory, the first one having just crossed the threshold for me tonight:

• "hockey moms"
• "NASCAR dads"
• "red meat"

And while we're at it, let's stop mentioning the importance of the women vote. If people can't figure out that 50 percent of the population is an important group to appeal to, nothing a commentator can say is going to make them realize it. That was, as I understand it, one of the outcomes of that whole suffrage thing.

Okay? Okay.