Words have meaning, but the Beltway press is in the process of stripping "populism" of its descriptive value as pundits and reporters continue to misuse the word in connection with the right-wing movement that obsessively opposes President Obama.

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A blogger makes a valid point in a recent blog on dawn.com.

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There are a couple of aspects of this historic vote that deserve notice here:

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- College students ditched class, employees skipped work and some huddled in the cold overnight just to make sure they get an orange wristband Wednesday that would let them meet Sarah Palin.

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With his U.S. Senate campaign gearing up, Gov. Charlie Crist the moderate, populist, Democratic-issue co-opting political transformer appears to be pulling the "chain-gang Charlie" suit out of mothballs.

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During an ABC Nightline interview on May 21, 2003, host Ted Koppel suggested that his guest was engaging in "class warfare" by arguing that the wealthy should pay increased taxes.

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There are many similarities between Sarah Palin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Wall Street's largest trade group has started a campaign to counter the "populist" backlash against bankers, enlisting two former aides to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to spearhead the effort.

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As outrage mounts over the $165 million in executive bonuses paid to AIG staffers, many Republicans are trying to tap into the widespread public anger by striking uncharacteristically populist tones.

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U.S. television shows like ''Extra'' and ''Inside Edition,'' along with celebrity Web sites like TMZ, are eagerly expanding their coverage of starlets and Hollywood breakups to include billion-dollar business scandals and even the economic collapse.

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"The system we have now might work for the powerful and well-connected interests that have run Washington for far too long," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address. "But I don't. I work for the American people."

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The MBAs and corporate bean counters who run America's newspapers these days blame the internet, fickle advertisers, America's education system, unions, and even you and me – aka, the "stupid public" – for the ongoing decline in readership.

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During the past week, Sen. Hillary Clinton has presented herself as a working class populist, the politician in touch with small town sentiments, compared to the elitism of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

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An interesting take on where Obama's future economic plans might take us.

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As John Edwards and Barack Obama tangle over who would be more successful in ridding the capital of lobbyist influence, Edwards today made a new promise for how he would govern -- and challenged his rivals to do the same.

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Ron Paul is running a campaign of "the way things ought to be" — with little reference to political reality.

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If Presidential politics actually worked like it does in the movies—or in the imaginings of patriots—the hot August night would have been one of those epic moments when everything starts to change.

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The Donkey in the room: Reflections on Bill Richardson (and the rest, really)

I recently had the opportunity to see Bill Richardson speak. The speech was primarily on Global Warming and Renewable Energy. It was OK, he's certainly not the worst of the candidates and when it comes to those issues, I back him pretty solidly.

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"In a December 2005 essay for FindLaw's Writ, "Warrantless Wiretapping: Why It Seriously Imperils The Separation Of Powers", Edward Lazarus -- a former federal prosecutor and current law professor in Los Angeles -- wrote that warrantless wiretapping is a major threat to the Const …

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From those mixed origins come the many populisms of today. The word has at least three broad meanings in a North American political context. I ll summarize them quickly, and then we can see if any of the candidates really match them.

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In an interview, the populist presidential candidate discusses foreign affairs and the economy.

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Mike Huckabee has a populist economic message that may be shunned by the Money Party in Washington, but likely has an appeal among rank-and-file working-class Republican voters. I think the Republicans have found a guy who can actually win.

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Dutch populist wants Koran banned

The populist politician Geert Wilders is calling for a ban on the Koran.

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Democrats rode their populist, anti-corruption platform to victory in 2006.

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A trying answer to a legitimate question on ending the Iraq War

When a question has been posed to you for the umpteenth time, there is only one thing you are obliged to do: answer it. And this time the bell rang as H.L. of Cincinnati, Ohio sent me this email in response to last week's column, Let's Stop Beating around this Bush: "Mr.

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