[SmokingJoe]

The assertion that Barack Obama is a socialist became a hallmark of the 2008 presidential campaign.

It did?
Never heard good ole John McCain mention it.
What I did hear though was McCain saying something to the effect of, “We have nothing to fear from 0bama”.

[mojito]

I agree with you. McCain always downplayed 0’s “redistributive” tendencies and even encouraged the idea that 0 was a moderate.

And for the record, I don't agree with Goldberg's analysis: I think Alinskyism is much more radical than Goldberg alleges, and I do think, contra Goldberg, that it is a kind of Marxism.