Political Football - What Does It Mean?
What does the term "political football" mean? What is the definition of the term "political football"?
A "political football" is an issue for which the blame is passed back and forth. A "political football" is usually an ongoing problem for which nobody wants to accept the blame or responsibility for.
A current example of the term "political football"? The US deficit. The Republicans want to blame Barack Obama for the problem, arguing that he has presided over multiple trillion dollar plus deficits. The Democrats argue that they inherited a "mess" and that a great deal of the current deficit spending can be attributed to the policies of the George W. Bush administration.
This is a great example of a "political football".
Other "political footballs" include the current jobs situation and the current state of the Social Security Trust fund.