Obama, a Marxist?

An interview Sen. Joe Biden did with Florida television anchor Barbara West made the headlines Sunday, after she asked if Sen. Barack Obama's now famous conversation with 'Joe the plumber' about 'spreading the wealth' made him a Marxist.

I kid you not.

How is Barack Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to
spread the wealth around?

Biden asked, "Are you joking?"

In case you missed it, you'd better see it to believe it :

Someone should tell this lady that all taxation redistributes income. Obama was talking about progressive taxation - the idea that people who make more should pay more - NOT class warfare or exploitation of workers.

More interestingly, as Time reminds us:

Between 2000 and 2004 McCain also had concerns about the distribution of wealth in America. More specifically, he opposed the Bush Tax cuts because a "disproportional amount went to the wealthiest Americans." (see video here)
NBC's Tom Brokaw asked McCain about this on Sunday, during a Meet The Press sit down. McCain's answer is a bit difficult to parse. He seems to suggest that some progressivity is good in the tax code, but that progressivity should be minimized (or at least not increased) during difficult economic times.

To finish on this supposedly "Marxist" issue, who said :

And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

Marx? Lenin? Mao?
Nope - just Luke in the NT (respectively Acts 2:44-45 & Acts 4:34-35) when he described the organization of the first Christian congregations after the death of Jesus.

Granted this may be a bit too radical in this day and age, but clearly a little redistribution may be more in tune with a Christian social mode.