You say Po-tay-to, I say Po-tah-to

The Bush Administration wants to make it clear: It’s a terrorist surveillance program, not domestic spying.

Putting aside partisan political differences, it's interesting the note the fundamental role language plays in setting the terms of political discourse and debate. It begs the chicken-and-egg question, is our language determined by our political viewpoints, or are our political viewpoints shaped by the language use and hear on a regular basis?