LONDON -- U.S. President George W. Bush's favorite accusation in the election campaign is reported to have been that Sen. John Kerry was a "liberal." The president seems to have used the label as a term of abuse meaning a "leftwing" radical and a supporter of the appeasement of terrorists.
There is nothing in the dictionary to justify this interpretation of the word "liberal." According to the definition in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, "liberal" in the political sense means someone who is "favorable to democratic reform and individual liberty" and "(moderately) progressive."
Bush is in favor of democratic reform in the Middle East even if his government continues to give backing to autocratic regimes in, for instance, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. The president frequently affirms his belief in democracy.