#2. Surge
Influx of 20,000 U.S. troops to Iraq aimed at, among other things, quelling
sectarian violence. Even if you don't know the specific details, the word
itself has by now been drilled relentlessly into your head. "Is the surge
working?" "Is the surge failing?" "What does Gen. Petraeus think about
the surge?" Surge, surge, surge! President Bush's call for additional
troops, which was announced in January, incited more heated discourse this year than
almost any other issue save immigration.