Obama and socialism

When the McCain camp isn't busy making Obama out to be a terrorist sympathizer or a radical left winger they are trying to make him out to be a Socialist. Now, 'spreading the wealth' could be linked to socialist ideas but when Obama threw that notion out there to Joe the Plumber but what about when when viewed in the context of Obama's platform?
Is Obama a Socialist? Well, The Chicago Tribune recently took the time to ask people who really know. Some highlights:

John Bachtell, the Illinois organizer for Communist Party USA, sees attempts by Sen. John McCain's campaign to label Obama a socialist as both offensive to socialists and a desperate ploy to tap into fears of voters who haven't forgotten their Cold War rhetoric.

"Red baiting is really the last refuge of scoundrels," Bachtell said. "It has nothing to do with the issues that are confronting the American people right now. It's just a big diversion."

And...

"Obama is about as far from being a socialist as Joe The Plumber is from being a rocket scientist," said Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "I think it's hard for McCain to call Obama a socialist when George Bush is nationalizing banks."

So, once again I will trust the opinion of those who know what they are talking about- actual communists and socialists.