If John McCain wins next Tuesday, it will likely be because he and his campaign have successfully convinced the low-information, undecided voters who once again hold the fate of the world in their hands that Barack Obama is a socialist.

The false thesis underlying the McCain lie that Obama will redistribute tax revenue down to lower income citizens rather than up to McCain/Bush’s fatcat cronies — the latter system being the Republican’s twice failed “trickle down” method.

This new position is yet another policy flipflop for John McCain, however. In 2000, on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” McCain had this exchange with a young student:

STUDENT: Why is it that someone like my father who goes to school for 13 years gets penalized in a huge tax bracket because he’s a doctor. Why is that - why does he have to pay higher taxes than everybody else? Just because he makes more money. How is that fair?

MCCAIN: I think you’re questioning, questioning the fundamentals of a progressive tax system where people who make more money pay more in taxes than a flat across the board percentage. I think it’s to some degree because we feel obviously that wealthy people can afford more. We have over the years beginning with John F. Kennedy reduced some of those marginal tax rates to make them less onerous. I believe that when you really look at the tax code the very wealthy because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes really don’t pay as much as you think they do, when you just look at the percentages. And I think middle income Americans, working Americans, who when you count in payroll taxes, sales taxes, mortgage — all of the, all of the taxes that working Americans pay — I think you would also think that they also deserve very significant relief.

…

STUDENT: I still don’t see how that’s fair…aren’t we getting closer and closer to Socialism and stuff…?

MCCAIN: Look, here’s what I really believe: That when you are, when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more. But at the same time it shouldn’t be totally out of proportion.

McCain added that the “first people who deserve a tax cut are working Americans…and they’re the ones I would support tax cuts for first.”