Could there be a clunkier phrase than "basket of deplorables"? Hillary Clinton's assertion that half — or maybe something less than half — of Donald Trump's supporters are "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it" struck a lot of observers as not just an odd turn of phrase but politically unwise. You attack your opponent, the idea was, but you don't attack the voters.

But now, a few days later, the brilliance of Clinton's remark is becoming clearer. Yes, she got a few liberal commentators to take her side and defend the substance of it. But the far bigger benefit is that in the wake of her comment, some media figures decided to devise a "deplorables" quiz for Trump supporters. Is Person X deplorable? How about Person Y? The effect was to pressure Trump supporters not only to agree with Clinton's larger point but with her precise terminology.

That's what Wolf Blitzer did with Trump running mate Mike Pence Monday. "There are some supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence who — David Duke, for example, some other white nationalists, who would fit into that category of deplorables, right?" Blitzer asked Pence.

"Well, as I told you last time I was on, I'm not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name," Pence said. "Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support, and we don't want the support of people who think like him."

"Would you call him a deplorable?" Blitzer pressed. "You would call him that?"

"No, I don't — I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf."

So Pence said of Duke: "We don't want his support, and we don't want the support of people who think like him." But that wasn't enough. Would he use Clinton's word? And when Pence didn't — well, look at the coverage that followed:

Pence declines to call Duke 'deplorable' — Politico.

Mike Pence refuses to call David Duke 'deplorable' — USA Today.

Mike Pence declines to say whether David Duke is 'deplorable' because he 'is not in the name-calling business' — Washington Post.

Mike Pence refuses to call David Duke 'deplorable' — Huffington Post.

Mike Pence declines to call David Duke 'deplorable,' disavows support' — CNN.

Mike Pence Denounces David Duke but Won't Call Him 'Deplorable' — ABC.

Mike Pence refuses to describe former KKK leader David Duke as 'deplorable'; 'I'm not in the name-calling business' — New York Daily News.

Mike Pence Won't Call David Duke 'Deplorable' — Daily Beast.

Mike Pence Just Refused to Call Ex-KKK Leader David Duke 'Deplorable' — Esquire.

Mike Pence says he wouldn't call David Duke 'Deplorable' — Slate.

Mike Pence is too nice to call an avowed racist 'deplorable' — GQ.

The headlines were multiplied through Twitter. When Rebecca Sinderbrand, a Washington Post political editor, tweeted, "Wolf Blitzer: Would you call David Duke 'deplorable'? Pence: 'I'm not in the name-calling business…'" she received 1,800 retweets. When a short time later Sinderbrand tweeted "(Pence noted that he and Trump reject David Duke's support)" she received 36 retweets.

Wolf Blitzer: Would you call David Duke "deplorable"?

Pence: "I'm not in the name calling business..." — Rebecca Sinderbrand (@sinderbrand) September 12, 2016



And so on. Could Clinton have hoped for any better response? Donald Trump and his supporters could protest all they want. Mike Pence could make what in any other context would be accepted as a definitive statement — "We don't want [Duke's] support, and we don't want the support of people who think like him." It still didn't matter. Unless Pence adopted Clinton's exact word — and Clinton chose one that sticks in the brain and invites the question — Pence risked being aligned with Duke and others of his ilk.

And that is the brilliance of that clunky phrase "basket of deplorables."