We've seen a lot of McCain calling Obama a "socialist" recently, but it's worth noting that McCain doesn't exactly have an idea of what "socialism" is. Or rather, socialism is something that other people do. When Chris Wallace asked him this Sunday to explain "socialism," McCain struggled.
WALLACE: But you did it indirectly, so let me ask you for some straight talk. Do you think that Senator Obama is a socialist? Do you think that his plans are socialism?MCCAIN: I think his plans are redistribution of the wealth. He said it himself, "We need to spread the wealth around." Now, that's one of...
WALLACE: Is that socialism?
MCCAIN: That's one of the tenets of socialism. But it's more the liberal left, which he's always been on. He's always been in the left lane of American politics.
That's why he voted 94 times against any tax cuts or for tax increases. That's why he voted for the Democratic resolution, budget resolution, that would impose taxes on — raise taxes on some individual who makes $42,000 a year.
That's why he has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate.
WALLACE: But, Senator, when we talk...
MCCAIN: So is one of the tenets of socialism redistribution of the wealth? Not just socialism — a lot of other liberal and left wing philosophies — redistribution of the wealth? I don't believe in it. I believe in wealth creation by Joe the Plumber.
McCain is sort of admitting here that Obama isn't actually a socialist, before accusing him of being one again, because he subscribes to one of the "tenets" of socialism. That's like saying that McCain is a Muslim because he gives to charity, one of the five pillars of Islam -- like "spreading the wealth," charity is a broadly shared principle. As Jonathan Cohn pointed out over the weekend, the concept of "spreading the wealth around" goes back to Adam Smith, not Karl Marx.
To Wallace's credit, he then pointed out that McCain voted for the same bailout as Obama, the largest socialist act in American history, and is offering tax credits to people who don't pay income tax as part of his health care plan, policies that McCain describes as "socialism" and "welfare" when Obama supports them.
--A. Serwer
