Regarding the president’s quip, I wonder if it is the case that a reporter ever has in fact referred to Barack Obama’s policies as “socialist” during a press conference.
That question notwithstanding, I feel a bit sorry for poor President Hollande: He’s burdened with the scarlet “S” for a mere 75 percent tax rate, while President Obama’s more enthusiastic partisans are calling for a 91 percent tax rate, and nobody calls them “socialists” in polite society.
Jay Nordlinger has made the point that if Barack Obama were a European politician instead of an American one, he would belong to some forthrightly socialist party such as Hollande’s. I do not think it is that much of a stretch to say that the Democrat Obama and the Socialist Hollande are more alike than different.