Obama Mocks Socialist Attacks: "I Shared My Toys"

Sam Stein
stein@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting From DC

Obama Mocks Socialist Attacks: "I Shared My Toys"

October 29, 2008 at 12:53 PM

Here's a funny moment from Obama's rally today in North Carolina -- a rally in which at least 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.