But for a lot of people now, calling Obama a socialist is what it's all about, not winning the election.
Is Obama a socialist? Not in the classic sense of demanding public or state ownership of the means of production, but as classic socialism has withered, people come to see it in places where they wouldn't have during socialism's heyday.
Probably more Democrats are going to have connections that could be seen as "red" even as fewer people advocate what socialism actually meant for generations.