The phrase "It is what it is," for the uninitiated, is one of the most deflective, meaningless, redundant, and idiotic phrases in the English language. And not surprisingly -- mostly because it's at times useful for ending an argument without having to justify your point -- it's beginning to penetrate the vernacular. And certainly, the White House.
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The cliche is used most often as a declaratory way of saying, "I'm done talking about this. I can't or don't want to quantify my logic in this exchange; I have no defense. Just accept what I'm saying without any further argument, and let's change the subject." So to see it used so blithely by Scott McClellan when discussing a matter as serious as listening in illegally on peoples' conversations is absolutely galling.
