Well, I replied and 20 mins later it still hasn’t shown up. So here we go again.
First, I’m not an Obamabot. I do this with anything. I drive my wife insane with it too. I even did it with Bush. I don’t like it when people grab a thought and run with it without thinking about it first, checking a few sources and confirming. If it checks out then I’m in, if not then I don’t stand for it. Like in this case, rather than assume incorrect usage, check a few dictionaries to see if maybe the usage they are going for is in another one. In this case it is, so this whole deal is a mute point. And the original poster, Jay Nordlinger on National Review, should know better.
Even with gay, as you mentioned, I can still use it at a decriptive word for my feelings, or a color, etc. according to American-Heritage. But I bet if a politician said that the ball they had last night was a gay time, reporters would be all over it and it’d blow up to a huge deal. Even though its perfectly acceptable according to both Merriam-Webster and American-Heritage to use it to describe a merry time.
“MUTE” point. Funny....