Along with labels like "terrorist" and "Muslim," there was another thread in the Republican attacks against Barack Obama last week.

Obama's critics were using the "s-word" to describe him - a term far more inflammatory to Neocons.

Is Obama a socialist?

Socialism is the halfway point from capitalism to communism, a kind of purgatory in social theory. Instead of an economic and political system based on individual competition, achievement, and monetary reward, socialism seeks a balance between the needs of the individual and the collective good of society.

Neocons like to say that socialism leads to Stalin-style dictatorships and Mao-era inefficiencies, when in reality Canada, France, and Germany are more accurate examples of contemporary socialist governments.

As many Americans awaken to another colossal government failure, socialism may have gained some appeal.

If preventing 9/11 was a failure of imagination and Katrina was a failure of government response, the meltdown on Wall Street is the combo deluxe.

Ronald Reagan must be turning in his free-market grave.

For the first time in recent history, a US president - a Republican no less - is taking steps to nationalize some of the country's biggest financial institutions. And the feds want to guarantee inter-bank loans.

The next president, possibly Obama, will have to assess the state of the union through the eyes of a greatly disillusioned middle class.

Correcting the country's economic course will require a president who can ease the public's fears about fair taxation and redistribution of wealth for the collective good of the country.

The next president will have to convince us that our broken health care, urban education, energy, and housing policies hurt everyone, and make poor economic sense.

Obama has a better command of this terrain, and his life experience also makes him the best candidate to navigate our national morass over race and poverty.

A free-market capitalist like McCain would suggest taxing health-care benefits, ignoring any increases in the ranks of the uninsured.

A socialist would make the true cost of the uninsured to taxpayers transparent.

Given the recent events on Wall Street, which would you prefer?