George Bush is hardly known for his rhetorical gifts. But his speech at last summer's Republican Convention has already left its mark on the American language -- at least the kind pundits write and speak. Ever since Bush invited the Congress to "read my lips," invoked a "thousand points of light" and promised a "kinder and gentler nation," journalists have become obsessed with the phrases.
"Read my nose," declared NBC News commentator John Chancellor last November, decrying the foul atmosphere of the fall campaign. READ MY LICKS, headlined the Los Angeles Times in a story about the menu for an Inaugural...