Is "Spread the Wealth" Obama's Poland?
Plus, Yes: Cool Facts About Joe "Fuckin'" Wurzelbacher

US News blog...

Did Barack "Spread the Wealth" Obama Just Blow the Election?

October 16, 2008 11:37 AM ET | James Pethokoukis | Permanent Link | Print

No. Really. You're kidding me. Barack Obama actually told that Joe the Plumber guy that he wants to "spread the wealth around." What, did Obama just get done reading the Wikipedia entry on Huey "Share the Wealth" Long or something? Was he somehow channeling that left-wing populist from the Depression? Talk about playing into the most extreme stereotype of your party, that it is infested with socialists.

A while back I chatted with a University of Chicago professor who was a frequent lunch companion of Obama's. This professor said that Obama was as close to a full-out Marxist as anyone who has ever run for president of the United States. Now, I tend to quickly dismiss that kind of talk as way over the top. My working assumption is that Obama is firmly within the mainstream of Democratic politics. But if he is as free with that sort of redistributive philosophy in private as he was on the campaign trail this week, I have no doubt that U of C professor really does figure him as a radical. And after last night's debate, a few more Americans might think that way, too. McCain's best line: "Now, of all times in America, we need to cut people's taxes. We need to encourage business, create jobs, not spread the wealth around."

And by the way, I just noticed that the IBD/TIPP poll, the most accurate in 2004, has McCain down by just 3 points. If the contest is perceived by the voters as a contest between a wealth redistributor and a wealth creator, then it could be a long night come Nov. 4.

I'll leave the last bit of the post -- Gallup's findings on how many Americans share Obama's passion for spreading the wealth -- for your click.

To return this to the bone I'm gnawing on: Sure would be nice to connect up Obama's "spread the wealth" philosophy with the wealth-spreading of Fannie and Freddie, by making good-credit Americans subsidize and guarantee the risky mortgages of bad-credit Americans, thus leading to the current financial calamity.

Spreading the wealth sure does work gangbusters, eh?

And--

Cool Facts About Joe the Plumber start now!

When Joe the Plumber takes on the bad guys in an 80s video, he always wins the inevitable pipe wrench fight.

-- Palin Fan

INCITEmarsh--

Joe the Plumber went to the finest plumbing school in America. His major was, no surprise, Plumbing. His minor? Skullfucking.

I tried to minor in that but the labs were brutal.

Plus, Yes: Cool Facts About Joe "Fuckin'" Wurzelbacher&bodytext=US News blog... Did Barack "Spread the Wealth" Obama Just Blow the Election? October 16, 2008 11:37 AM ET | James Pethokoukis | Permanent Link | Print No. Really. You're kidding me. Barack Obama actually told that Joe the Plumber...&topic=world_news"> posted by Ace at 02:22 PM

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