As Frank Luntz explained to a PBS Frontline crew in 2004*, calling for the abolition of an “estate tax” was not effective; calling for the abolition of a “death tax” resonated much better and made the issue a winning one for the Republicans.

It is my opinion that one of the reasons Barack Obama won last night is that his language was better-tested and better-suited for the United States of 2008. This is not meant as a slight on Senator Obama, but rather a compliment. I believe that there is nothing wrong with couching an argument in your own terms. In this election, Republicans were blindsided by the tsunami of hope and change, and were never able to break through with competing language that made Republican ideas sound good to our increasingly post-modern electorate.

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