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It has been difficult to decipher some of the Beltway buzzwords in use now that Democrats are in firm control of our national government. Of course it's understandable that in attempting to sell their socialist platform they must verbally cloak their agenda, as the great majority of Americans continue identify themselves as moderate to conservative. But this has happened before. During the Clinton Administration, and in particular amid the battle over his impeachment, we were daily treated to treatises on the definition of words like, is.

But, coming so quickly as they do on the heels of the George W. Bush years--where the president's every word was parsed for accuracy as well as pronunciation--in the Obama Era, words and phrases that were applied one way for Bushies, have acquired whole new meanings now. And so, in an attempt to straighten this out, I offer the following list of terms and catchphrases along with their current definitions, instances of popular press corps usage and sometimes the truth:

Herbert Hoover: The 31st president of the United States, whose economic failures were held up for ridicule and endlessly linked to those of President Bush. Mysteriously, the keys necessary to type his name have apparently vanished from the word processors of the mainstream media during the current recession with its nearly double-digit unemployment rate.

Lagging Indicator: An economic term that GOPers tried unsuccessfully to apply to unemployment statistics during the George W. Hoover years. This tactic is being resuscitated by Democrats, but look for it to be applied to Obama's poll numbers.

Dissident: This word was, in the past, most usually associated with those in the Soviet Union who were unhappy living under the tender mercies of Communism. In the world of mainstream punditry, this now refers to those who express their unhappiness with the prospect of living under the tender mercies of socialism. These dissidents are also viewed as possible terrorists.

Community Organizer: Up until only months ago, this was deemed a noble and even patriotic calling. Yet in a short span, these folks are now considered un-American dissidents and extremely unpatriotic.

Patriotism: This is a term that no longer denotes pure love of country, but rather, love of how a particular political ideology might benefit that country. President Obama gave us a clue on the campaign trail explaining, "I decided I won't wear that [flag] pin on my chest, instead I'm gonna try to tell the American people what I believe what will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism."

Patriotic Debate: Discussions that lead to shrieking denunciations of Republican policies, as so ably demonstrated by Hillary Clinton's demure proclamation: "I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say, we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration!" However, those who disagree with the present administration are not considered Americans, but Nazis.

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