Obama Addresses N.C. Voter Who Called Him "Socialist"

By: Maria Gavrilovic
Topics: Barack Obama

(CBS)

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - John McCain's charges that Barack Obama is socialist may be resonating with some voters.

At a BBQ stop this afternoon, Obama received an unwelcome greeting from one woman who yelled "socialist, socialist, socialist – get out of here!" as he met with other customers.

The woman, Diane Fanning, who works at Sam's Club, then asked the Democratic nominee about the North American Union, which he opposes.

"I know some people have been hearing rumors about it. But as far as I can tell that's just not something that's happening. We would never give up our sovereignty in that way. Any other questions?" Obama asked Fanning.

She reluctantly responded, "No, I'm not going to say it."

At a rally after the stop, Obama brought up McCain's accusations that his tax plan is a form of socialism and dismissed it as a political attack.

"He has been attacking the heck out of me," Obama said, "Lately, he and Governor Palin actually accused me of socialism. Socialism. It's kind of hard to figure how Warren Buffet endorsed me, Colin Powell endorsed me and John McCain thinks I'm practicing socialism."

He accused McCain of wanting to cut taxes for Fortune 500 CEOs, "who've been making out like bandits, adding, "John McCain thinks that giving these Americans a break is socialism. Well I call it opportunity, and there is nothing more American than that."

Obama also expressed gratitude to Colin Powell for his endorsement, saying that he is most flattered by Powell's comments on how his campaign has been run. "I am even more grateful about what he said about the nature of this campaign because Colin Powell reminded us of what's at stake in this election – for America and for the world," Obama said.

"He reminded us that at this defining moment, we don't have the luxury of relying on the same political games the same political tactics that are used every election to divide us from one another and make us afraid of one another."

He added, "But no matter what they do, you'll have the chance to walk into that voting booth, and close that curtain, and say, "Not this time. Not this year."

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by dave_p5 October 21, 2008 2:33 AM EDT: Look...Democrats simply want people to pay their fair share of taxes based on their income. If you make more, you can afford to pay more taxes and you''re still very well off after the fact. Right now the Dems feel the middle class is paying too much and upper income people are getting too much of a break. Like all Dems, Obama wants to correct this. That doesn''t make him Robin Hood or a socialist.; Reply to this comment


by newslink October 20, 2008 7:43 PM EDT: This the Main Reason that People are turning away from MCcain. He can not or will not Stop the name-calling.Instead of sticking to the issues. He really should be checked by a Doctor. Because He just do not Get It.; Reply to this comment


by dave_p5 October 20, 2008 7:40 PM EDT: "Joe the plumber" is a fraud. He doesn''t have a plumbing license, his name isn''t Joe, and he makes less than $250,000 a year. Why does Palin keep referencing this guy when making her socialist arguement???; Reply to this comment


by dagrandma October 20, 2008 7:23 PM EDT: On the subject of Obama and share the wealth, let''s look at Sarah Palin. According to Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone, Alaskans are #1 in federal spending per resident ($13,950), but 18th in federal taxes paid ($5,434). What does this tell us about socialism? Why am I working to help pay for Alaskans?; Reply to this comment


by letreasonwin October 20, 2008 6:28 PM EDT: Being Scandinavian, I was very offended by McCain''c comments. Europe is not really socialist. Most countries are more like Sweden, which has a market economy (a well balances mix of a free market and government.) And Europeans are generally happier than Americans because they don''t have to worry about losing their basic needs. In the US a hard working professional can lose his job by no fault of his own and lose his home and health insurance.; Reply to this comment


by hatesthecolt October 20, 2008 5:29 PM EDT: You know, of COURSE McCain''s comments that Obama is a socialist are resonating with "some" voters, but they are the same whack jobs that are posting on this website and there are not enough of them to matter. Oh, and they were already voting for McCain. So really, WHO CARES??????; Reply to this comment


by steeepe October 20, 2008 5:23 PM EDT: These comments about McBush being honest are way off the mark. McBush repeatedly lies about almost everything, including his positions last year and what he said three weeks ago. If you waqnt more of the Bush economic and foreign policy doctrines, McBush is your guy. If he gets elected, just hope that the dope Palin gets impeached right away and replaced with someone competent.; Reply to this comment


by john43218 October 20, 2008 5:07 PM EDT: Obama has laid claim to personal control over the world%u2019s oceans and seas. He has repeatedly attempted to dictate how and on what level he, his ideas, and his activities may be discussed. He has encouraged a portrayal of himself as a messianic figure, including a portrait of himself as Christ, complete with halo.
Obama has overweening pride, an arrogance so profound and so visible as to affront the gods themselves.

The ending was never good %u2014

Beyond cleaning Hillary%u2019s clock, he has no accomplishments to speak of.

Obama does share one quality with the heroes of the ancient world: an absolute conviction that he is superior to the ordinary run of humanity. Like them, Obama believes himself a man of destiny, and like them, Obama will go over the edge.

The only question is whether he gets to take the country with him; Reply to this comment


by hokuto1 October 20, 2008 4:47 PM EDT: john43218 is seriously nearsighted: "Ask people to describe McCain and the first response often is, "He''''s honest." What you see is what you get. There are no mysterious associations to dance around."

Obama''s associations are only "mysterious" to conspiracy freaks who want to see what simply isn''t there. He''s a US Senator, not a Manchurian candidate. If anything were there to "see," don''t you think the Bush administration, with all its illegal wiretaps and investigative abilities, would have made it front and center news by now? Do you really think a four-star general, former secretary of state and privy to the most sensitive of government information, wouldn''t have the complete dope on him if there were something to see?

And John McCain honest? Which planet have you been visiting? No mysterious associations? Have you not been listening? Keating, Gordon Liddy, Oliver North, or Major General John Singlaub and his U.S. Council for World Freedom (USCWF)? (Singlaub was indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal.) And there are more, particularly if you want to count all the dodgy religious endorsements. Should we make all those the stuff of slimeball robocalls like McCain is doing with Ayers? If relevancy is measured by any whiff of "association" as wingnuts have tried to do with Obama, then they''re at least as relevant, particularly as regards his cynicism for the country that he keeps claiming to put first.; Reply to this comment


by rahepee October 20, 2008 4:45 PM EDT: Bush and McCain are more Socialist than Obama anyway. They authored and helped pass the $700 billion bailout, which used the power of the state to redistribute tax income from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy corporations and CEOs. Talk about socialism. And don''t give me this wheeze that trickle down economics benefits the poor. It never has and it never will. Under GOP presidents, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer and the middle class was nearly wiped out. So vote AGAINST socialism...vote Obama...; Reply to this comment