But Communism Is, You Know, So Misunderstood

By Drew

As you can see from the comments section below, there is a commentator - let's call him "Lonnie," since that is what he calls himself - who takes exception to the quote that I shared from Jay Nordlinger.

Now, did I suggest that Obama is a Communist? No - merely that to him, the glib, flip one-liner comes too quickly, too smoothly, suggesting a definite lack of gravitas in a situation that calls for at the very least a sensitive perspective. (But isn't the way Obama treats so many serious issues - as a joke?) Of course, that wasn't the point for Lonnie, who suggests that it's OK to joke about this most murderous system.

Naturally we're not the only ones who receive comments like this, so I'm going to return to Jay, and reprint in full a comment he made today on this very subject - and, at the risk of ruffling Lonnie's feathers (at least those on his left wing), say once again that this is the problem with Obama and his followers. Smug, arrogant, condesending types - you know who they (and you) are:

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Last week [says Nordlinger], I jotted a small post that struck something of a nerve. Under the heading “Differing Perspectives,” I wrote,

Senator Obama said this about John McCain: “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.” That’s interesting. Obama evidently thinks of communists as people who share. I think of them as people who kill.

A great many conservatives wrote in to say, “Obama is not the type merely to share his own toys and sandwiches — he’ll confiscate those goods from other kids and redistribute them as he pleases!” Kinda clever. Others who have lived under communism — or have relatives who have — wrote in to say thank-you.

But I was struck by all the e-mails that came from the left: many of them seething with hate, and many of them — surprisingly enough — defending communism. It’s not that these readers thought I had defamed Barack Obama; they thought I had defamed communism. Nine decades of killing fields, and still . . . well, never mind.

Want to share just one missive with you — it’s from a professor in California, who wrote,

You said, “Obama evidently thinks of communists as people who share. I think of them as people who kill.” That may be why Obama, not Jay Nordlinger, is the Democratic candidate for president. I know its [sic] probably a stretch, but you might want to look up the word “Communist” in a dictionary sometime. I think you’ll find that Obama’s understanding is closer to correct.

Yes, there’s a reason I’m not the Democratic nominee — Obama is perfect. And there’s a reason this fellow is a professor in California (or anywhere else in the country). Sad, inevitable – appalling.