Along with ridding Washington of Tom DeLay, the Abramoff scandal might have another positive effect: finally retiring the cliché, haggard, overused “gate” nomenclature. As columnist Cynthia Tucker points out, Abramoff is in a class by himself.

…the level of hypocrisy exposed by the Abramoff scandal is hall of fame stuff - the sort of outsized arrogance and disregard for law and decency that make it a benchmark against which other scandals will be measured for decades to come.

Wouldn’t that be great if it were? We’d finally be able to move out of the ‘70s and into the 21st century with something not gate-related.

So the question is, what will replace it? The Abramoff Effect, to describe the stigma associated with accepting his cash? DeLayism, to describe the willingness to sell legislation to the highest bidder? Jacking Off, to describe accepting clients with inherent conflicts of interest and playing one against the other? Time will tell.