In the uproar over Sen. Clinton's ill-advised use of the a-word, I got to thinking about the many tired words and phrases that have become the victims of overkill this campaign season. So I decided to start a list of the ones that, come November, I hope never to hear again in my lifetime:

* "Under the bus"
* "-gate" (in describing a scandal or gaffe: Bittergate,  
    Snipergate, et al)
* Gaffe
* Disenfranchise(d)
* "My friends"
* Nuance(d)
* Reagan Democrat
* Working-class (with the unspoken implication that what the
   speaker really means is white working class)

Feel free to add the ones that really get under your skin . . .