Barack Obama used a bit of humor on Wednesday to push back against Republican suggestions that he’s a socialist.
Here’s Obama in Raleigh, N.C.:
Now, because he knows that his economic theories don’t work, he’s been spending these last few days calling me every name in the book. Lately he’s called me a socialist for wanting to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can finally give tax relief to the middle class.
I don’t know what’s next. By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret communist because I shared my toys in kindergarten.
I shared my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Look, that’s his choice. That’s the kind of campaign he chooses to run. But you have a choice, too.
The fundamental question in this election is not, are you better off than you were four years ago? We know the answer to that. The fundamental question is, will we be better off four years from now?
McCain, picking up on Obama’s “spread the wealth” comment, has accused the Democrat of wanting to redistribute Americans’ wealth. McCain has also portrayed Obama as someone who would raise taxes and increase government spending. Obama has stressed that he would raise income taxes only for people making more than $200,000 and would cut taxes for middle-income Americans.