Is the U.S. becoming a socialist nation?

I've covered government at all levels for nearly 17 years, and never during that time have I heard “socialist” and “communist” pop up more in our national political conversation than I have in the past 12 months. Judging by the virulent discourse I’ve heard, you’d think we were on the verge of becoming the next USSR rather than the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Exaggeration? Here’s how readers reacted to a simple CNN story on President Obama’s approval rating in November, when his favorable mark was in the 53 percent range:

“I believe what he is doing to this constitutional republic of ours is very disturbing and borders on treason!”

“I voted for change. I just didn’t know it would be socialist change. He’s making the economy worse. I don’t like the idea of self-[avowed] communists in the White House.”

Obama “is a total socialist who hates this country and wants to be the world leader and head up the world banking industry and one world economy. Kind of sounds like Hitler and Stalin, huh?”

In Tea Party marches, protesters have brandished signs portraying Obama as Hitler, or with the Soviet hammer and sickle floating above his head.

I’m sorry, but I don’t remember this level of rage directed at President George W. Bush in his first year in office. No doubt there were those who hated Bush with a passion, hurling epithets at every turn. But at least most folks gave the guy a chance to settle into the White House before trying to skewer him with unfounded accusations and the rather trite comparisons to demagogues of the past.

Obama was barely in office for a month before charges that he was a big socialist began to surface — even in the mainstream media, and even among respected members of Congress. Here’s a Boston Globe headline from last Feb. 28 — 39 days after he took office: “Obama drives US toward socialism, GOP says.”

The story began, “Top Republicans accused President Obama yesterday of driving the United States toward socialism, while Democrats praised his spending plans as an ambitious roadmap to change healthcare, energy, taxes and more.”