Whether in Thursday night's vice-presidential debate, or in the endless stream of words coming from the mouths of the punditry, we've all heard the term "maverick" bandied about to describe both Senator McCain and Governor Palin.
While browsing the New York Times today, I came upon an article that gave a short history of the term and assessed whether Senator McCain was aptly described by it.
"Maverick" was the surname of a family that moved to North America sometime in the 1600s. The first Maverick to make a name for himself was a vocal opponent of indentured servitude, who encountered some trouble with the law due to his beliefs.
The common usage of maverick did not come about until the 1800s, when a member of the Maverick family moved to Texas. He was known for not branding his cattle, leading all such unbranded cattle to be called "Maverick's." (Note the possessive, not plural.)
Apparently the Maverick family, staunchly progressive liberals, are not big fans of McCain's "branding" himself a maverick. (Pun very much intended!) They argue that, by being a member of a political party, McCain is already branded, and thus cannot rightly label himself a maverick.
The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/weekinreview/05schwartz.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin
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1 comment:
Would you happen to know how the term "hockey-mom" originated? :)
(Sarah Palin) :) :)
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