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What were the most memorable new clichés of the presidential campaign?  What words and phrases did the race between the Obama-Biden ticket and the McCain-Palin ticket add to our political lexicon?  Here is a list from media commentator Paul Janensch.

I’m not talking about OLD clichés such as Battleground States.  I’m talking about NEW clichés.  Number one was Change.  Both sides employed it repeatedly.  Barack Obama even had Change We Need displayed on his lectern.  But Change wasn’t always good.  Obama criticized John McCain for trying to Change the Subject.  

McCain’s clichés included My Friends, Straight Talk, Joe the Plumber, Country First, Earmarks, Spread the Wealth – which McCain thought was bad – and Maverick.  Maverick dates back to the 1800s.  A Texas rancher named Samuel Maverick did not brand his cattle.  Hence the cattle were called “Maverick’s.”  Today Maverick means anyone who doesn’t bear another’s brand.  Interestingly, Sam Maverick’s descendants still live in Texas and said they were voting for -- Obama.  
Joe Biden’s contribution was the Kitchen Table.  He said that was where Americans were talking about their finances.  He liked to add that McCain “will have to figure out which of his seven kitchen tables to sit at.”  

Sarah Palin’s list of new clichés was as long as your arm.  Here are a few: Hockey Mom, Wal-Mart Mom, You Betcha, Real America and Pallin’ Around with Terrorists.  

Each side accused the other of being – horrors -- Out of Touch.  The Obama camp accused McCain of being Out of Touch because he had insisted that the Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong – which is also a cliché.  The McCain camp accused Obama of being Out of Touch because in Iowa he commented on the high price of arugula.  Even worse was Playing the Race Card.  

Obama said Republicans would note he doesn’t look like the presidents on our currency.  A McCain campaign honcho shot back that Obama “played the race card, and he played it from the bottom of the deck.”  

Journalists added clichés of their own, such as Bradley Effect, Wall Street vs. Main Street and Close the Deal.  As usual, political journalists borrowed clichés from sports, such as Game Changer and Hail Mary Pass.  After a debate, a typical news story began something like this: The candidates came out swinging, but neither landed a knockout punch.  

Maybe we should take all these clichés and just Throw Them Under the Bus.  Hey!  That was ANOTHER campaign cliché!

Media commentator Paul Janensch is a former newspaper editor who teaches journalism at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.