"He made a difference."
Is the first speaker a good person? Did the "he" of the second quote do something good? Impact is not always good: a boxer impacts his opponent. Making a difference is not always good: Hitler made a difference.
It seems that some folks figure that Legislatures need to pass laws. And it seems that it really doesn't matter whether the laws are good or bad as long as the lawmakers are busy "making an impact" and "making a difference".
Please don't "impact" me; I don't like being hit. And don't pass any new laws that "make a difference"; I haven't memorized all the old ones, yet.
-Ch
