Cheap Political Jibes

I'm sure you know this of which I speak. It's a particular nemesis of the Blair and Bush 2 governments: use a short 'incisive' phrase to get the media going on a particular issue, especially (but not exclusively) education. It may be true in some cases, but it's dangerously simple.

Examples:

• 'axis of evil' : Twit.
• 'dumbing down'/cut the c!!p': this will undoubtedly not help the prospects of public service broadcasting one little bit. Cut the slogans!
• 'bog-standard comprehensives'
• 'Mickey-Mouse degrees': Walt Disney and co should sue; see <http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/careers/story/0,9856,875004,00.html>
• 'clear and present danger/weapons of mass destruction': this especially over-glib with regard to the ricin affair of 1/2003. How can ricin, an admittedly very toxic substance which nevertheless only works by injection, be compared with weapons-grade plutonium??
• 'axis of weasel' (the Americans on the French reaction to the war on Iraq): Possibly the media more than the administrations, but twits again.
• 'hippies and liberals': Pro-war extremists on the anti-war camp. Remind me when 'liberal' became an insult, and send Charles Kennedy round with a shot-gun. Probably the most ludicrous extreme does come from America Land, some of whose citizens have been known (on the BBC Website) to denounce 'liberals' and praise the "Land of the Free" in the same breath. The Statue of... what was it again? Whatever the rights and wrongs, if people aren't willing to think of alternatives, of course there won't be any alternatives.
• 'running out of time': Hawks have been using this about Saddam since 1998 at least. Err, running out of imagination, guys?
• 'put up or shut up': er, time to take a dose of your own medicine and put up with a few dissenting voices?
• 'rogue elements': uh? Curse those wretched transuranics! Everybody ignored Sapphire and Steel's warning, but one might have known they'd end up helping the terrorists. :)