This week’s letter will read rather like one of Nicholas Clairmont’s “Word of the Week” columns. Nick’s meditations are excellent, so perhaps I flatter myself. But either way, the word I want to pick apart is “moderate,” one of the most misused terms in our politics.

I am prompted to do so partly because our cover story this week focuses on Sen. Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, who is often referred to in political journalism as a “moderate.” Our author, Andrew Donaldson, has chosen not to do so, rightly in my view.