Obama Mocks Socialist Attacks: "I Shared My Toys"

Here's a funny moment from Obama's rally today in North Carolina -- a rally in which (not so humorously) two attendees passed out, in the process stopping the event while Obama urged medical personnel to attend to them and even offered up his own bottled water.

Responding to charges that his economic policies were socialistic in nature, the Democratic nominee ridiculed his opponent for resorting to trivialities and distractions.

"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."

The line was reminiscent of when Obama chastised Hillary Clinton during the primary for citing his kindergarten papers as evidence that he had a long-held presidential ambition. Now, as then, Obama chose to parlay the attack through humor as much as substance, a method that has proved effective not just in dismissing charges but drawing media attention towards his rebuttal.

Comments

[curocat]

07:39 PM on 10/30/2008

McCain said it's Socialist to past wealth around and Palin, McCain and their supporters cry "Socialist " they want no part of it, it's repulsive.... Well, when that Government Check comes around to help the people in this recession , they can just send that check back to the Treasury Department. Oh by the way , did you cash the last " re-bate " check ????

[kylennblack]

10:25 AM on 10/30/2008

Obama shares his toys while McCain is just eating paste.

[munki]

08:26 AM on 10/30/2008

GOP getting no where to many of us...
Obama is right... VOTE... take nothing as granted...
VOTE! for those not yet done so...
VOTE! November 4th...

I can say it as I did already...

[KickerBoard]

07:54 AM on 10/30/2008

Latest news from the McCain camp:

Kindergarten Veterans For Truth: "Obama never shared his toys!"

Great campaign, GOP. Enjoy the dust.

[stardot]

07:02 AM on 10/30/2008

What's going on here? Have we suddenly been invaded by a group of Repug trolls who can actually spell?

Wow. Is all that hate keeping you warm in there?

When Bush 2.0 was awarded the occupancy of the Gore White House by the S.C. (after the Florida election was stolen by Katherine Harris and her sweetie Jeb Bush) I said "our country will not recover from this in my lifetime".

Despite my worries that there are still plenty of right-wing election thieves who have plans to attempt to alter the will of the people and steal this election any way they can, I hope that the first day of our long recovery will begin on November 5th.

A return to constitutional laws will start with a repeal of some of Bush's blatant attacks on "our freedom!"

[BluePrideSMW]

05:27 AM on 10/30/2008

the right hasn't nearly exhausted their tricks...

Abraham, Martin & John:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge32xtm23rQ

[AlteSoldier]

03:52 AM on 10/30/2008

Palin's 2012 talk leaves McCain aide speechless

Palin throws McCain under the Bus one more time.
Palin openly talking about hoping to be the candidate in 2012 and not concerned about John McCain’s loss on Tuesday.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Palins_2012_talk_leaves_McCain_aide_1029.html

[MarciL]

03:02 AM on 10/30/2008

What's so bad about being a socialist?

"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planned economy, which adjusts production to the needs of the community, would distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman, and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow-men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society." -Albert Einstein

[JustLynn]

02:46 AM on 10/30/2008

If you have problems of ANY kind at the polls on Tuesday, DO NOT LEAVE the booth you are in...call over a polling place official and make them investigate the problem...use the camera on your cell phone and take pictures if you need to...or call 1-800-OUR-VOTE... and it is ABSOLUTELY LE*GAL for you to take one person of your choosing into the booth with you to help you....dont let anyone tell you it isn't ok.....

[huff-n-puff-post]

03:10 AM on 10/30/2008

That's all probably OK but just try not to use the same person for assistance more than once. Otherwise it will start to look improper. You wouldn't want that would you?

[ContraEgoiste]

01:42 AM on 10/30/2008

Do these tro//s even understand what they are saying or think they are against? Or do they just mindlessly parrot what they are told? Take a look around you. Everything you own is the product of someone else. Everything you know is something you learned from someone else. Your very existence is entirely dependent on being a member of a SOCIAL construct. Unless you plan to give it all up and go live in the wilderness. And this even means the clothes on your back, because unless you grew the raw materials yourself, weaved it into fabric and sewed your own garments, you are wearing the benefits of living in a society.

It's pathetic how these people have been brainwashed into fighting against their own interest and have been scared into building a bogey man. It is pitiful to see how easily they are duped into believing that anything that advances, progresses and continues to evolve our human collaboration and secures our wellbeing, in other words our social construct, is the same as Communism. They have been trained, no, scared into this knee jerk reaction, because the ones holding the power don't want them to wake up and realize what it is that they are supporting, and that it is their own enslavement.

- continued -

[ContraEgoiste]

01:46 AM on 10/30/2008

- continued -

Yes, I preferr socialism for the masses instead of corporations and the wealthy. Yes, I'm for the growth, enlightenment and progress of humanity as a whole. Yes I'm for the evolution of society and creating a better world in synch with its environment. I pity these people because they think that the application of a label that in their very limited understanding think is adverse. They have no idea how meaningless and humorous it is, specially coming from intellectually challenged individuals who are arguing for their own enslavement.

[ContraEgoiste]

01:48 AM on 10/30/2008

- continued from above -

These people don't realize that they have what they have because they live within a society. That our knowledge is the sum of all the knowledge before us, and that this is only possible because the construct of society. That the reason we have evolved to the point we have is because the collaboration of community, whether this was first formed around hunting parties or agriculture. That the "great" industrialists whom they worship could only become so because they live(d) within the structure of a society. That they can only build their empires within the structure of a society, and in many cases by exploiting the graces of society. That their wealth and power has any meaning only because their worth is acknowledged and agreed upon by the rest of society. That our greatest thinkers, inventors, et al, reached their conclusions by building on the work of those before them. And were able to understand what they knew because what they learned from those before them and the accumulation of knowledge that occurs in a S.O.C.I.E.T.Y. And they were smart enough to acknowledge this.

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton

"He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god." - Aristotle

"No man is an island." - John Donne

[missionimpossible]

01:30 AM on 10/30/2008

Sarah the secessionist and socialist.

[huff-n-puff-post]

03:19 AM on 10/30/2008

Great, then if Obama wins she'll lead Alaska's move to secede.
We won't need their oil anyway. Obama will provide all that we need.
He said he would.
Didn't he?

[ContraEgoiste]

03:31 AM on 10/30/2008

Sure, we'll move into renewable energies, and we'll see where AK gets the know how and technology to get at their oil. heh

[Julie02]

12:55 AM on 10/30/2008

McCain and Palin...hoping they will take their toys and go home on Nov. 4. No need to share with the rest of us. We don't like playing with nukes.

[scordsdu]

12:36 AM on 10/30/2008

Cute comeback but Socialism has a very serious side to Globalism. War is the Process. Socialism is the ends. Machiavelli is dead and won't win this engagement.

[showmestategal]

12:16 AM on 10/30/2008

I didn't share but I learned to because I had 4 brothers & as we grew up togetherr I learned the Joy of sharing. I was brought up to be thankful for what I had and if possible to share with others. Maybe not always money but of myself by helping in other ways.
That is really all you are asking us as the United States of America to do for each other.
Because together Yes We Can do as our ancestors taught & did in their tough times.
Not just Money, but with the Joy of truly helping others through avenues available to us individually.
Taxes are a means of support of a Budget that we should be able to keep balanced through the hard work of each American Citizen the Haves' & the Have Nots' need to know this is not socialist it is part of "IN God We Trust " for our Nation .
Trust that is when all is said & done we are the best Democray in the World because of the differences of abilites we can share as a Freedom.
I may not like every choice the government makes personally but understand the concept of For the People, By the People. For the Good of All the People with Compromise & Leadership to Care Fairly for ALL.

[Drummaboy]

12:04 AM on 10/30/2008

I was there at this rally...he did offer up the bottles of water...to huge applauses. And the PB&J line was classic! The place was electric!

[roshni]

12:27 AM on 10/30/2008

We know that Obama has a history of coming through for complete strangers even before he was in the limelight. He gave a woman money to take her overweight luggage to Norway when he was in his '20's.
He's just a decent, caring person.

[huff-n-puff-post]

02:53 AM on 10/30/2008

Was that story in his book of dreams?