Language Rehabilitation

When did the label "Fellow Traveler" get rehabilitated?

Used to be, calling someone a "Fellow Traveler" was fightin' words. That label referred to someone who, while not actually being a member of the Communist Party, was sympathetic to their aims (not a good thing in the 50s and 60s. Or the 70s or 80s, come to think of it). Leon Trotsky himself used those words (well, the Russian equivalent) to describe people sympathetic to communism.

So imagine my surprise when I read this quote from Barack Obama, talking about his wife, in Marie Claire:

She's just a wonderfully normal, levelheaded person. Any American woman who meets her would immediately identify her as a fellow traveler.

http://www.marieclaire.com/world/news/barack-obama-interview-women

Now I've begun to see the term popping up on liberal blogs, particularly in the comments section. When did this change? Anybody know the new meaning? Or is a signal to all the commies out there that Obama is their man?

Hey, I've gotten emails from relatives saying Obama is the AntiChrist (and they have the Bible verses to prove it) and more emails saying that John McCain is the Manchurian Candidate (cue scary music and scary Angela Lansbury).

I just want to start my OWN conspiracy theory.