Kudos to Barack Obama for being able to spot a catchy book title when he hears one, but we have a suggestion for all you drooling reporters out there who ooh and ah over everything that comes out of Obama’s mouth (or pen, in this case) – do your own work. Before you go and name your next piece “The Audacity of ____”, don’t.

When you co-opt Obama’s clever title, you’re not offering up some cutting but of commentary; you’re merely cashing in on a trend. The list of offenders is long. The latest comes in the form of the newest episode of This American Life on NPR, titled “The Audacity of Government”. It’s not that the title isn’t fitting; the entire show is comprised of stories of the individual pit against an unjust authority. It’s just that the meme has been completely exhausted – the political equivalent of I Can Haz Cheeseburger.

The list of previous abusers includes (but is certainly not limited to) The New York Times (The Audacity of Hopelessness), The Washington Post (The Audacity of Chutzpah), The New Republic (The Audacity of Data), Real Clear Politics (The Audacity of Rhetoric), American Thinker Blog (The Audacity of Phoniness), and countless, countless others. So here’s to the audacity of thinking of something new, and never using the word “audacity” ever again.

Crossposted from WhiteHouse.com