Dreams From My Father By Barack Obama


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Dreams From My Father By Barack Obama

Dreams From My Father By Barack Obama

A favorite conservative talking point maintains that President Barack Obama is a socialist. The origin of this theme was an off-the-cuff remark Obama made to Joe Wurzelbacher—Joe the Plumber—on October 12, 2008, during a campaign visit to an Ohio neighborhood. Wurzelbacher told Obama he was considering buying a plumbing business that “makes two-hundred-fifty to two-hundred-eighty-thousand dollars a year.” Near the end of a brief discussion between the two, Obama said, “… I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Republicans and rightwing media pounced. Rush Limbaugh referred to “the Obama pure socialism comment.” The New York Post accused Obama of having “plans to become a modern-day Robin Hood in the White House, confiscating money from the rich to give to the poor.” (“Obama Fires a ‘Robin Hood’ Warning Shot,” Charles Hurt, New York Post, October 15, 2008.) Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told one audience, “Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism.” (“Palin Invokes Socialism Charge Against Obama,” Imtiyaz Delawala, ABC News, October 20, 2008.)

The chorus continues. In a November 23, 2010, piece titled “The Liberal Obsession: Spread the Wealth Around” for the website American Thinker, David Paulin accuses liberal Democrats of favoring “Robin Hood-style soak-the-rich policies” and cited Obama’s “spread the wealth” comment. In case anyone might miss the socialist connection, Paulin said this “obsession” was found in Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela and Castro’s Cuba.