This Tuesday, a report surfaced that President George W. Bush was less-than-thrilled that an unidentified source had informed the media he cut a deal with President-elect Barack Obama during their super-secretive White House meeting on Monday.

Responding to reports that President Bush hoped to trade passage of a Colombia free trade deal for a bailout for Detroit automakers, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said [Tuesday] that “the President did not suggest a quid pro quo.” (Politico.com)

What the heck is a “quid pro quo?” I wondered. Am I dumb or something? I looked it up. Quid pro quo … Latin for “something for something,” indicating a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods and services. Thanks, Wikipedia.

This incident made me reflect on times I’ve encountered a Latin expression in the past and hadn’t the faintest idea what it meant. As a journalism student I was always told to avoid Latin phrases in my writing. “Don’t use ‘em,” one particularly gruff professor warned. “‘Cause no one knows what in the hell they mean anyway.”

The following is a list of 25 Latin phrases you may or may not encounter at some point during your lifetime. I’d refrain from incorporating them into your vernacular at the risk of sounding … well, stick-up-ass-ish, for lack of better term. Sorry, Dana. And lawyers.

1. A fortiori – from the stronger; even more so
2. Ad nauseam – to the point of disgust; when something is repeated over and over
3. Carpe noctem – seize the night
4. Caveat emptor – buyer beware
5. De facto – from deed; existing
6. De jure – according to law
7. Emeritus – veteran; retired from office
8. Exempli gratia (e.g.) – for the sake of an example
9. Habeas corpus – you may have the body; legal petition challenging imprisonment
10. In actu - in practice
11. Inter alia – among other things
12. Ipso facto – by the deed itself; by the very fact
13. Lectori salutem (L.S.) – greetings reader (used to open a letter)
14. Memento mori – remember your mortality
15. Memento vivire – remember to live
16. Nihil ad rem – nothing to do with the point; irrelevant
17. Pari passu – with equal step; moving together, simultaneously
18. Post hoc ergo propter hoc – after this therefore because of this; it happened before and it is thus the cause
19. Prima facie – by first look, self-evident from facts
20. Re – by the thing; in the matter of (used in e-mail correspondence)
21. Rigor mortis – stiffness of death
22. Sine qua non – without which not; an indispensable person or object
23. Sensu lato – in the wide sense; with the broad meaning
24. Summum bonum – the highest good; the ultimate ends
25. Vox nihili - voice of nothing; useless or ambiguous phrase or statement

Source: “List of Latin Phrases,” Wikipedia.com

Election Day in America.

I am proud of most Americans today — proud of their passion, and proud of their concern for the future vitality of the United States. O beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties … above Obama and McCain. The voter vigor we see this election is incredible, but perhaps not as incredible as some of the rhetoric I hear spewing from the mouths of uninformed citizens from nearly every political persuasion. Their words are based on fear and fear alone. And whether they know it or not, they are selling this great country short.

I was on FOXNews.com this morning, perusing some comments on YOU DECIDE: Who do you think will win?, a page set up to encourage general discourse on today’s election. As I scrolled down the page I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. Self-appointed experts on both sides were filling out the very same Mad-Lib: “If ___________ wins, this country as we know it will end.” Is America really so fragile that one man can, in four years, reverse its greatness? I beg to differ.

Writes Doug: “If Obama wins I can say for the first time in my life I am NOT proud of my country.” Well Doug, if a single politician can alter your loyalty to America than perhaps that loyalty is not as strong as it should be. What makes America is its people — not the politicians we elect to run our government.

Here’s another gem. This one comes from Tina: “So [McCain] believes cheating on his first wife is part of good American values? Republicans are so hypocritical. They wanted to impeach Clinton for cheating on his wife, but it’s OK for McCain to do it?” Oh, Tina Tina Tina. In my humble opinion, cheating on your wife is immoral and wrong no matter how you slice it. But that’s not why Clinton came under fire. Clinton allegedly obstructed justice and committed perjury. He lied under oath to the American people, and that is why people wanted him out. Was this a crime great enough to warrant impeachment? Probably not. And guess what — he wasn’t convicted.

Another person, identified by the moniker “Florida Resident,” writes: “Obama will probably win because he bought the election with money funneled in through his Middle East ties. Look at the chief financial guys on his campaign; I do believe they are his college roommates from Pakistan. Do the math!” Obama did not “buy” this election any more than any candidate in the past did. He has a lot more money than McCain, but as far as we know he did not acquire these funds illegally. All people from Florida are not as ignorant as you, just as all people from Pakistan are not out to get America.

One poster declares that “McCain is the only way to keep the America we know and love alive.” And then there is Seamus, who calls McCain “an absolutely self-centered, egomaniac, BRAT.” Lon predicts that if Obama wins “we won’t have to look much longer for Bin Laden” because he will be seated at the White House dinner table. On the other hand, Bill calls Obama a “true biblical hero.”

All of this is just absurd.

I voted for John McCain today, but I don’t hate Barack Obama. I believe McCain is the right man for the job and agree with most of his ideological principles. I want a president who is willing to work with both Republicans and Democrats and a president with proven military experience. I trust McCain to carry this country forward. That being said, I respect the campaign Obama has run. He is obviously an intelligent man, with remarkable charisma to energize the millions of people he has these past two years. I also believe electing a black president would show the world how far this country has come from our less-honorable days of slavery and racial discrimination.

I hope this polarization subsides after the emotion of today has worn off. We are all Americans, no matter who we vote for. No one person can ruin this nation and we can thank the framers of the Constitution for that. As C. Brenny writes, “We should be proud that we live in the greatest nation on earth. All this negativity does nothing but undermine what we could achieve to make this country better.”

It’s true that Americans are faced with many challenges, but they are no greater than any this country has overcome in the past. I hope that no matter who wins today, we can put aside personal biases and show respect toward our new president. We’re better than the screaming pundits and we’re better than anonymous ranters. Barack-backers or McCain supporters, we are all Americans — and we are certainly better than this.