Word of the Day for Thursday September 8, 2005
demagogue \DEM-uh-gog\, noun:
1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals
to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
2. A leader of the common people in ancient times.
This was to have held a sculpture of a Roman charioteer
driving four horses, but the work was never completed,
leaving behind what looks like a diving board or a futurist
balcony, ideally suited for a demagogue exhorting a throng
below.
--Michael Z. Wise, "A Fascist Utopia Adapted for Today,"
[1]New York Times, July 11, 1999
A consummate demagogue, McCarthy played upon cold war
emotions and made charges so fantastic that frightened
people believed the worst.
--Arthur Herman, [2]Joseph McCarthy
Even when he showed his true colors as a demagogue and
trickster, Stalin did so in such a crisp and weighty,
confidence-inspiring manner that he bewitched not only his
conversational partner but himself as well.
--Milovan Djilas, [3]Fall of the New Class |
