Demagogue

Demagogue is a great sounding word, that unfortunately has two often contradictory meanings.

1. Demagogue - Common meaning
The most commonly accepted meaning of Demagogue is that of a person who appeals to the common people through the use of emotional rhetoric inflame the people to immediate ill-considered action in order to gain political power and implement policies which are not in their interest. A self-interested rabble-rouser.

2. Demagogue - Archaic Meaning
In it's original meaning, a Demagogue was a leader of the common people.

So now, whenever you hear some Republican or Fox News pundit call, President Obama a demagogue, you can laugh along at the inside joke. Yes, President Obama is a demagogue in the archaic sense that he's a populist leader. Yet, at the same time, the person calling President Obama a demagogue is a showing himself to be a demagogue in the common