WASHINGTON -- So unpopular is President Obama these days that the (D) following Democratic candidates' names might stand for Denial.

And, so desperate are political pundits for any fresh news crumb that a molehill quickly becomes a mountain. One ill-chosen word -- or, worse, failure to answer a reporter's question -- and the candidate is suddenly redrawn into a caricature he doesn't recognize.

WASHINGTON -- Words have a way of seeping into our vocabulary and, through overuse or distortion, soon begin to lose their meaning.

Who could have imagined that the word "beheading" would become commonplace, as though we were discussing a sport or a new product?

WASHINGTON -- It has long been accepted by the conventionally wise that the Republican Party is waging a "war on women."

Let's be clear. The war on women is based on just one thing -- abortion rights. While it is true that access to abortion has been restricted in several states owing to Republican efforts, it is not true that women as a whole care only or mostly about abortion.

WASHINGTON -- Without prior knowledge or intent, I recently was inducted into a club I had no interest in joining, especially in light of the $200 initiation fee.

WASHINGTON -- About that stunning defeat.

Conventional Wisdom, that self-righteous propagandist, has it that Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's trouncing by an academic, tea-sipping nobody marks the end of the GOP establishment.

WASHINGTON -- So much for the argument that having more people armed in public places will result in fewer gun deaths.

President Obama evidently was caught by surprise by the scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

So, apparently, was VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who evidently took at face value the corrupt VA statistics -- and who, after a distinguished military career, resigned last week.

WASHINGTON -- The exchange of five Guantanamo detainees for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has reminded us of three unpleasant facts of life:

The United States does negotiate with terrorists; the president will circumvent laws as circumstances require; Republicans and Democrats will be summarily outraged as party affiliations seem to require.

WASHINGTON -- To hear tell, the mean ol' GOP is waging war on Michelle Obama and, brace yourself, America's children.

Got it?

The newest war on women/children relates to the first lady's well-intentioned but disastrous school nutrition program, otherwise known as the Dumpster Derby.

WASHINGTON -- Former President George W. Bush once said, rather proudly, that he didn't read newspapers.

President Barack Obama, a confirmed newsie, has claimed to read the major papers, perhaps to learn what's going on in his own administration.