Mr Obama said: "No, I don't think Mr Snowden was a patriot." IMHO the word "Patriot" has become the worst kind of weasel word. It can basically be twisted

Mr Obama said: "No, I don't think Mr Snowden was a patriot." IMHO the word "Patriot" has become the worst kind of weasel word. It can basically be twisted any way by the speaker to launch an ad hominem attack on someone. Given the revelations of the past two months, I'm certain that many many Americans don't think that President Obama is a patriot either since he's basically sold out on the Bill of Rigthts, a core pillar of our nation. On the other hand, Obama's use of patriot at this PR event basically means someone who provides defenses for the country against perceived existential threats and does not weaken them. By that definition, Snowden would probably not qualify as a patriot according to many. Given your values, the meaning of patriot can change between two definitions that are at odds with one another. This makes it a useless word that plays to emotion and lowers the level of discourse dramatically. Besides those two defitions, many characteristics of someone who is patriotic are interchangeable with the characteristics of someone who is a bigot. Just like one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. One man's patriot is another man's bigot.