'Over the top'

Judging by his academic credentials, Sun Media columnist Salim Mansur knows a lot about politics.
But you sure couldn't tell that by his Oct. 25 column, wherein he slammed Barack Obama for "Marxian" ideas and predicted a John McCain victory.
"Joe the Plumber has become the everyman of American politics and with his simple question to Obama he unmasked the Democratic nominee's hidden Marxian economic policy -- from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs -- to 'spread the wealth around,'" Mansur wrote.
After ruminating on the old Soviet Union and "Marx's destructive ideology," the university professor went on to predict sensible Middle America would put McCain "over the top" Nov. 4 in a close vote.
There was so much wrong with his column that it's hard to keep any critique of it concise. But I'll try.
Here goes.
Let's start with Obama's "Marxian" leanings.
One might expect someone who teaches politics, as Mansur does, to know the difference between "Marxian" policy and Keynesian policy. John Maynard Keynes was no Marxist (or Marxian, if you will). And Barack Obama's ideas owe far, far more to Keynes than Marx, as surely Mansur could see.
But Obama said he'd like government to "spread the wealth around" -- and that's pretty freakin' socialist, right?
Well, Obama did say that. But as intelligent conservative George Will said on ABC's This Week just the day after Mansur's column was published, redistributing wealth is "95 per cent of what the government does."
Also the day after Mansur's column, another Sun columnist (Eric Margolis -- like Mansur and Will, a conservative) stated raising taxes isn't socialist, never mind Marxist.
Likewise, David Gergen pointed out on CNN last week that Teddy Roosevelt (not a socialist) supported redistribution of wealth via a progressive tax system and red-baiter Ronald Reagan started the redistributive Earned Income Tax Credit program. Famous as a key adviser to Reagan, Gergen is no socialist.
Will, Margolis, Gergen -- all of these conservatives had the sense to know that the "socialist" label does not apply to Obama, and had the decency to say it. But not Mansur.
Mansur's column was just a reiteration of the worst Republican Party talking points, including that tripe about Obama's ties to an "unrepentant terrorist." That makes Mansur a lousy columnist.
But if he knows a lot about politics, perhaps the hyper-partisan Mansur should keep his columnist job. He's a pundit, after all. Surely he offers wisdom for the masses to chew over, or at least he can give us some insight into where trends are heading.
Well, the great pundit predicted a McCain victory in a close vote. I don't have to tell you that's not what happened.
Sun Media papers are unapologetically conservative in their opinion pages, so you can't fault them for hiring right-wing columnists.
But a repeater of GOP talking points with near-zero credibility as a pundit -- well, that's another story.
It's time for Sun Media to tell Mansur his services are no longer required.