Well, it's not as if I'm treating this as some sort of incredible outrage, either. Obviously this sort of thing happens often enough, and obviously there have been worse cases (some of the people Isaac mentions certainly were using the term even more lightly). But just because it happens often enough doesn't mean one shouldn't protest against it, or express disapproval when the subject comes up.

I did obviously notice it before in the other thread, as I said, but I meant the examples Isaac was listing of it being used on various occasions prior to this controversy, by people from all over the political spectrum. I don't remember singling Palin out for criticism anywhere, or implying that her use of it is somehow worse than that columnist's. She gets more attention when she says it, that's all.