Yes, but New Dealish populism is economic populism, not cultural populism, and the Republicans today have succeeded in making cultural populism the most relevant form of populism for many Americans. That would be the belief that persons with more education, worldly travels, and governmental experience--our cultural "elites"--are not more qualified to hold elective office than average Americans. The growing acceptance of this viewpoint permits the Sarah Palins of our society to rise to the top.
Unfortunately, the botched job of the Administration's crop of cultural elites--the Cheneys and Rumsfelds--only serves to encourage this anti-elitist viewpoint. I think, however, that rather than discrediting the notion of a needed role for cultural elites, the Cheney-Rumsfeld example mainly illustrates the need for a populist impulse to check or moderate the elitist impulse in our society.
I think that Aristotle and our Federalist Papers writers got it right. The best-ordered society is one in which there is a balanced tension between the elitist impulses and the populist ones. One without the check of the other leads to excesses and destabilizing results. A victory for McCain/Palin coupled with new appointments to the Supreme Court that lessen the role of the Court in "legislating from the bench" would definitely move our society in a more populistic (cultural) direction. For me, that would be a worrisome outcome.