Hollywood Popular Artists

Oct 29th 2012, 17:43

lame duck session (noun): a meeting of Congress held after officials' successors have already been elected

Lame duck sessions are the meetings held in those awkward gaps between election day and inauguration day. The people have spoken; what-they-spoke just hasn't been signed on the dotted line yet. Congress can sort of jump ahead a bit in preparation for foreseeable priorities. Incumbents can hustle to tie up loose ends if need be.

On a sort of sad and pitiful tangent, "lame duck" also refers to an official still in office whose successor has already been voted in, just not sworn in —  members of Congress sitting in session knowing they'll be out-the-door soon, for example. We don't like that. It's kind of rude. But it's hard not to appreciate any term that gets Washington suits talking about ducks. Ducks are cute. In the depths of political intensity, we'll take a dose of cute where we can get it.

Of course, with a race this close, it may take a minute for the ballot-counting smoke to clear where the Presidential election is concerned. While waiting for a clear-cut winner, things could get a bit muddy when Congress goes into session post-election. Either way, Obama will be hustling to make the most of that lame duck window. No rest for the weary...

Media files:
Lameduck-Post.jpg (image/jpeg)
Lameduck-Feature-70x53.jpg (image/jpeg)