Republican presidential candidate John McCain refers to himself as a maverick. McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, calls herself a maverick and said she has "joined this team that is a team of mavericks."
The term maverick was first applied to unbranded cattle, especially a motherless calf, in the American West in the 19th century, after Samuel Augustus Maverick. Maverick was a lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
"Maverick was considered independent-minded by his fellow ranchers because he refused to brand his cattle," according to a Wikipedia entry. "In fact, Maverick's failure to brand his cattle had little to do with independent mindedness, but reflected his lack of interest in ranching."
This was just as well, because unbranded cattle were considered the property of the first person to brand them.
Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary also defines maverick as "an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party."
"Being willing to break with your party can be a plus with voters," Camillia Webster, writes at Forbes.com. "Maverick can also mean not able to work with anyone or not being able to get anything done."
But back to Samuel Augustus Maverick. His grandson was Congressman Maury Maverick, who coined the term gobbledygook, as in gibberish or unintelligible speech. Which certainly has been plentiful this election season, you betcha.
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