the buzz log

Anyone who has watched the Democratic National Convention has likely noticed a few odd metaphors being tossed around. Carnivorous pundits are talking about "red meat" like it's going out of style. Politicians are playing up images of the "kitchen table." And don't forget the "Yellow Dog Democrats." What do all these things mean?

Yahoo! Buzz is full of articles aiming to answer these questions. First up, red meat. Near as we can tell, this a metaphor for attacking one's rivals. During the DNC, analysts couldn't say it enough. The Washington Post wrote that Former Virginia governor Mark Warner, who gave the keynote speech on Tuesday, had no "red meat" in his address. (That's bad.) Meanwhile, Politico wrote that Sen. Joe Biden's speech, which attacked John McCain and George W. Bush, contained plenty of red meat. Somebody pass the A.1.

So, where should the American people eat all the red meat that's being served? Why, at the kitchen table, of course. Democrats evoked the family gathering place as a "touchstone for modern politics" in speech after speech. An AP story explains that Sen. Biden talked about his kitchen table in great detail. Why? Experts believe politicians use "the potent metaphor" because it connects them to average voters. After all, just about everybody has a kitchen table.

Now, what of the yellow dogs? Several delegates described themselves as such, and while it sounds like an insult, the phrase's true meaning is anything but. Historically, a Yellow Dog Democrat is someone from the South who consistently votes with the Democratic Party. No. Matter. What. According to C-SPAN, the phrase got its start from the belief that a loyal southern Democrat would sooner vote for a "mangy yellow dog" than a Republican. Now that's loyalty. Considering the stronghold the Republicans have held over the South in recent elections, Democrats better hope their yellow dogs aren't just chasing their own tails this November.