Back when I was in school, the worst terms were basically limited to “fatty,” “shorty” or “four-eyes.” Luckily, my formal education began just as modern culture stopped using the “N” word quite so frequently to describe African-Americans. But the “F” word (faggot) was in vogue back then as it still remains today.

Most adults steer clear of these obvious slurs, although there are those who will describe gay people as “homosexuals,” which personally makes me bristle.

Homosexuals, you see, are people that engage in same-sex sexual activity. Gays are just regular people (who happen to engage in same-sex sexual activity, and realize that they have done so.)

With Presidential politics heating up, the name-calling has just begun. And still the pejorative term of choice is the “L” word. A coded message is being sent by Democrats and Republicans alike who claim that candidate Howard Dean is too, well, you know ... “liberal” to either beat President Bush or govern effectively.

Before we go too far down the road to dissect what this intended slur against former Governor Dean means, let’s just take a quick inventory of other liberals who were also 20th century Presidents.

Early on, we had Teddy Roosevelt — the first “liberal” conservative. This president expanded the national park system that Congress created a generation earlier and made conservation a cornerstone of his legacy. If he were alive today, I’m sure he’d oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — unlike most in his party. In addition to beginning construction of the Panama Canal, which we later gave back to the country, he also established the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Labor.

Franklin D. Roosevelt easily won the title of a liberal, assuming office when the country needed a liberal dose of government intervention. His “New Deal,” liberal legacy includes everything from Social Security to the Fair Labor Standards Act to the Securities and Exchange Commission to the United Nations.

Harry S. Truman also used the Presidency liberally. From advocating for national health insurance (long before Bill and Hillary Clinton came along) to desegregating the U.S. military, “Give ‘em Hell, Harry” wasn’t afraid to do what was right, even if it meant the government needed to do it.

John Kennedy, despite his tax-cutting initiatives, could be called a liberal for his avocation of a space exploration program and expansion of civil rights. Lyndon Johnson, who actually got the Civil Rights Act passed, was also responsible for creating Medicare. Richard Nixon gave us a 1971 wage and price freeze — perhaps the strongest use of governmental power to affect the economy. He also established of the Environmental Protection Agency, the bane of many a conservative since. Even Ronald Reagan, “Mr. anti-government,” created the new Department of Veterans Affairs and left the Department of Education alone, despite promises to close it.

Dwight Eisenhower was another who steered off a conservative course from time to time. When the desegregation fight had Little Rock up in arms, he called out the National Guard to uphold federal court rulings. This was similar in principle to what Governor Dean did in Vermont when he signed the civil union legislation for same-sex couples, after a ruling and order by his state’s Supreme Court.

Which brings us to the current use of “liberal.”

Yes, Howard Dean has liberal plans, but to no greater degree than past Presidents. He balanced his state budget for 10 years, like Reagan only promised to do. He’s advocated for the environment like Teddy Roosevelt. He supports universal health insurance like Truman and Clinton. And he supports limited states’ rights on things such as gun control, like Nixon.

The central reason why a lot of people think Howard Dean is too liberal to be elected has nothing to do with his opposition to our War on Iraq, nor his support for expanded health care, nor his record on tax cuts and balanced budgets. It’s because he signed the civil unions bill, ensuring equality for gay men and lesbians. Rather than challenging the ruling of his state’s highest court, and creating a divisive, litigious Constitutional crisis, Gov. Dean chose to uphold his oath of office.

We can only hope the next President, liberal or not, will be governed by the same standard.