Words of Wisdom

Steve Chapman's latest article considers the current Republican plan of attacking Obama as a socialist at every opportunity.

In the radioactive atmosphere of modern partisan politics, no one puts much value on verbal precision. So it's safe to say that over the next four years, the 44th president will come to think his name is Socialist Obama, as critics on the right abandon analysis in favor of invective.

That is a mistake -- as McCain's losing campaign confirms. Accusing Obama of socialism is unwise for three reasons: 1) It's not true, and 2) it makes the accuser sound like an idiot, and 3) it distracts from Obama's true inclinations, which are worrisome enough.

I tend to agree; but I'm not sure it actually makes them sound like idiots. Bill Clinton was a mainstream center left politician who conservatives painted as the second coming of Che Guevara. Conservatives didn't pay much of a price for those distortions, and I doubt they will here either.

The worrying true inclinations, incidentally, are Obamas theory that Government can be used to fix some problems.