The real significance of this episode is that it's yet another reminder of just how out of touch with the public mood McCain the Redistributionist is.

What's so fascinating to me is that McCain had spent years branding himself as just the kind of person who understood the public mood well, and who would avoid the very gimmicky campaign that he has instead chosen to pursue. I have to admit, I am still stunned that he chose to travel this low, undignified road. Then again, it does serve to show just how much of a sham that maverick brand was.

When it comes down to it, all that 'straight-talking maverick' stuff was just another form of self-loathing.

I mean, what currency do charges of "redistributionism," "socialism" and "Marxism" have 18 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and 45 years after the end of McCarthyism? A huge percentage of voters today came of age after the end of the Cold War.

Just what I was saying yesterday, Moose. This would have been a pretty campaign - in 1953.

Why don't they just go back to the whole "Barack the Magic Negro" line and call it a campaign?

I think McLame is a closet flat tax proponent.

I think you've stated it well, "the Seriousness Gap". Over this entire election season, and particularly over the past few weeks, we have seen America start paying attention in a way we haven't experienced in my lifetime. At the critical moment, just as America was tuning in, McCain picked Palin and then did that absurd "suspension". It was the equivalent of watching him strike out in the biggest situation, with the game on the line. He just can't be trusted after that. Everything since then has just reinforced what we learned from those two decisions, McCain is unpredictable and Palin is unqualified.

One week and finally, this will be over. It will be a wonderful thing to move from "campaigning" to actually doing something positive for this country.

This whole argument of his makes me laugh - Palin "redistributed the wealth" to the residents of Alaska!!

So, why is she of all people accusing Obama of doing what she did, even though what he has planned is NOTHING like what they keep stumping at their so-called rallies.

Need it be said that progressive taxation is not the same as redistribution of wealth. Suppose that all that the government did was build roads and bridges and run armed forces. We would need some tax scheme and one could certainly argue for a progressive scheme of taxation. But there wouldn't be any redistributive element to such a scheme, since the government would be making no transfer payments.

Obama is proposing more than just progressive taxation. He's proposing an increase in transfer payments under the guise of "tax cuts." He says that 95% of tax payers are going to get a tax cut. He intends to do this through use of the income tax system and through the tax credits. That is, he intends to make transfer payments funded by higher taxes on high income individual.

He won't officially cut non-income tax taxes. He is rather directly transferring income via the income tax system from one set of tax payers to another.

That HASN"T been going on forever -- though it did start under the Reagan adminstration and was accelerated under the Clinton adminstration.

I'm all for earned income tax credits. They were a great tool for reducing poverty and closing the gap between the rich and poor.

But sometimes lefties act as if mere progressive taxation is the same as income transfers. THey are not at all the same.

Obama hasn't been very honest about this aspect of his approach, frankly. And it shows how vapid our public discourse is that we can't even discuss policies like this open, honestly, and systematically. Rather everywhere you turn, there's misleading and distracting spin and distraction instead of honest debate.

It makes me want to move to another country, sometimes, and wash my hands of everything American.

Wealth spreader?

"Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells."

I'll leave for the rest of you to determine how smart it is for McCain to scare us about Obama by comparing Obama to J. Paul Getty.

Just to think so many believed that this campaign would be about National Security and Foreign Policy, the alleged Republican strongpoints which turned out to be not quite so.

Instead we have these pathetic extremist John Birch society talkingpoints as the Republican campaign's main argument on the eve of the election.

How long ago last week's un-American meme now seems, and the celebrity attack seems more ancient than Etruscan ruins. Another day, another smear. How old this socialism nonsense will all seem Thursday morning.

You know, if any of those xenophobic fools had ever been to Europe they might get over this notion that European style Socialism is such a bad thing.

They live pretty goddamn well in Europe. And they have about half the worries we have - they don't worry about health care; they get a month to 6 weeks of vacation every fucking year because they value their quality of life.

Over here all the fuck we do is work. We are like Japan used to be - work 24/7 for less all the time. It's no way to live.

America's lifestyle is not that great - they live better in part of Europe.

An exchange from 2000:

Responding to a question from a girl who wants to know why her her father, a doctor, pays a higher tax rate than people who earn less:

McCain: "I think it's to some degree because we feel, obviously, that wealthy people can afford more."

Doctor's daughter: Aren't we getting closer and closer to, like, socialism and stuff?

McCain: "Here's what I really believe. When you are, reach a certain level of comfort, there is nothing wrong with paying somewhat more."

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/mccain-socialis.html

Every charge that McCain has spit at Obama, it always comes back to hit him in the face.

Excellent piece, Greg! "Seriousness Gap": I like it and I could not agree more with your line of thought on this. Obama is the candidate that has treated the American people with respect as far as their very real conerns in these times. He's treated us like adults and shown that he cares by talking to us about the issues that matter.

Regarding- redistribution. Man, wingnuts are fucking crazy. That's all I have to say. I tried to explain a progressive income tax plan to some wingnut friends of mine this weekend- I may as well have talked to a cement wall. All they could do was parrot talking points like these- while I tossed out facts and figures. The scary thing? Wingnuts think clever little statements like this redistribution line are as factual as numbers and statistics.

The big line from this weekend "Rich people work hard too". Jeez, what a great defense.

I guess it's all about the false equivalency.

Seriousness Gap is a great phrase, and it really expresses the frustrating sense of the election I've had lately.

The McCain/Palin camps are NOT serious. They have not given us any serious ideas. They give us old platitudes and half-baked gimmicks, and any digging into the ideas eventually erupts into yet another smear on Obama.

God, I so want to have a grown up in the White House. One more week! Get out the vote for Obama!

If you listen to teh whole clip, obviously Obama is talking about Constitutional law in an academic way.
http://www.entertonement.com/collections/6246/Obama-on-Distribution-of-Wealth