Governor Tom Vilsack has begun using the phrase “at the end of the day” a lot this past spring, and legislators have caught the bug. On June 19, Vilsack said “at the end of the day” four times during a speech and news conference afterwards. Later that day, House Speaker Christopher Rants let the phrase fly at his own statehouse news conference. Rants said “at the end of the day, it’s got to pass the legislature and get the Governor’s signature on it.” At that point, a reporter in the room said “That’s the phrase of the day” and everyone — including Rants — began laughing. Just moments before Rants met with reporters, Senator Jeff Lamberti of Ankeny used the phrase in a separate news conference, but he denies he adopted the habit because of Vilsack. Lamberti says he’s “always said it” and it’s just one of those “catch phrases” everyone uses.