It's debatable whether it was in good taste given the world's current climate to use the word "terrorist." And we can say as much, and he can admit as much. But it's a bigger deal than it ought to be. We don't need to police public discourse as much as we do. Let people say what they really think! Lay it out on the table! I hate fakery, I hate when people disguise their ideas in bland, misleading language. It's part and parcel of what makes politics so smarmy. Politics ought to be a battle! It *is* a battle, a battle of ideas. I think what bothers me most about the press surrounding the story is that the NEA (which is nothing more than a labor union) and its supporters in the media act as if it is some sacred cow, above criticism, merely because its members are teachers. It operates just like any other labor union, it is naturally self-interested, but because it represents educators it acts untouchable.