http://dir.salon.com/topics/andrea_higbie/?source=rss&aim=andrea_higbie en-us Copyright 2007 Salon.com. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:07:00 PDT By Andrea Higbie Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:07:00 PDT http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/23/shock_and_awesome/index.html?source=rss http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/23/shock_and_awesome/index.html?source=rss The president has used "awesome" to describe everything from dead soldiers to the pope. How did a slang word trickle up to the highest office in the land?