Almost once a night, some pundit refers to the current political exchange betweeen Democrats and Republicans as
"kabuki dance" or "kabuki theatre", and despite the frequency of its use, I still have no idea what it means. I interpret it to mean fake posturing and putting on a show of conviction for voters.



Another annoying unclear term is "the third rail", or "touching the third rail", which again is a near meaningless but frequently tossed-around phrase.

 Quote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail_of_politics

The third rail of a nation's politics is a metaphor for any issue so controversial that it is "charged" and "untouchable"; any politician or public official who dares to broach the subject will invariably suffer politically. The term is most commonly used in North America. The "third rail of American politics" is often said to be cutting Social Security; the "third rail" of Canadian politics is said to be public health care.

The third rail in a railway is the exposed electrical conductor that carries high voltage power. Stepping on the high-voltage third rail usually results in electrocution. The use of the term in politics serves to emphasize the "shock" that results from raising the controversial idea, and the "political death" (or political suicide) that the unaware or provocative politician would encounter as a result. Disagreement may occur over whether a specific issue is a "third rail" issue. What is considered a "third rail" issue varies by country. Third-rail issues usually only die when politicians who have proven their credentials on related matters ignore the taboo and openly challenge the controversial issue.





Another that annoys me is "the fourth estate". Which is the media. And I understand that the media is considered the unofficial fourth branch of government that is supposed to keep the other three (Executive, Legislative, and Supreme Court branches) accountable to the voters. But I don't understand inclusion of the word "estate". It sure doesn't sound like a term for the news media. So why not just plainly say: News Media !