Political Comment

A little while back, I posted a comment about the charges of "socialism" being thrown out by the Republicans in the current campaign against Obama. There's a story in the current New Yorker that does a good job of explaining some of the background for why and how the charge has been applied through recent American history, its distinct lack of relevance to the Obama tax plan, and also the blatant hypocrisy exhibited by Sarah Palin especially in leveling the charge (turns out Alaska directly distributes oil tax revenue to the citizens of the state, who themselves pay no income or sales taxes, and she actually has increased the amount since she became governor). Just to be clear, I'm not criticizing that idea, which probably makes sense given the economic realities in Alaska. But to turn around and accuse someone else for a far more meager "redistribution" of wealth suggests either painfully inadequate self awareness, or blatant dishonesty. Neither quality should inspire much faith in the candidate.