Jargon watch.

• Position: 10 MILES SQUARE - Kabuki dance

A dance craze is sweeping the nation's capital: the kabuki dance. In Japan, Kabuki is a traditional Japanese drama performed with highly stylized singing and dancing. Here in Washington, it's a metaphor, used to imply that a political event or situation is all show and no substance, or that everyone performs their parts while already knowing what the outcome will be. Other times, it's used to imply, well ... we're not exactly sure what. But it's got a good beat, and politicians and pundits can dance to it.

--Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) at John Roberts's confirmation hearing: "It's kind of interesting, this kabuki dance we have in these hearings here, as if the public doesn't have a right to know what you think about fundamental issues facing them."

--Nina Totenberg (National Public Radio) on Lynddie England's military trial: "The guilty plea turned into a kabuki dance that even the judge couldn't buy."

--Mohamed Elbaradei (Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency) on nuclear disarmament talks: "It's absolutely ridiculous that we're spending 10 years doing kabuki dance--'Should we start the negotiations? Should we not start the negotiations?' For God's sake, let us start the negotiations.

--Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) on...