FDR’s New Deal saved capitalism from itself; that is to say, from its worst excesses. That does not sound like “Marxist economic philosophy” to me. I hope that Obama will have an opportunity to implement the best of his common sense policies; which seek only to promote a greater level of basic fairness and economic justice.

If there is anything that epitomizes a “forced redistribution approach” to the economy, it is the Republican policy of favoring a wealthy few over the vast majority of working Americans. That is what led to our current economic crisis; namely “forced redistribution” to the already wealthy at the expense of the middle class and those in poverty.

Finally, I have no problem with identifying with democratic socialism of the type espoused by Norman Thomas and Michael Harrington. It was Michael Harrington’s book The Other American, that inspired John F. Kennedy’s War on Poverty. That hardly makes Kenndey a Marxist, just as Obama’s efforts to help the middle class hardly make him a socialist; especially as he (Obama) explicitly says that he supports capitalism.

Terkel might not have lived to witness the coronation, but I suspect he’ll be casting a vote for Obama tomorrow anyway. In fact, I would wager Terkel will be casting posthumous votes in the Windy City for many years to come.

From the last paragraph of your column, it appears that you have not read Obama’s The Audacity of Hope; it which he makes it clear that his economic philosophy has far more in common with FDR’s New Deal than with anything resembling “Popular Front culture.”

Moreover, during the event at which Caroline Kennedy endorsed him, Obama explicitly said that he believed in capitalism. Striving for basic fairness and a modicum of economic justice, as Obama does, is not a sign of “Popular Front culture.” Rather, it is a much needed remedy to eight years of Republican malfeasance.

Indeed, although I will enthusiastically vote for him, I wish that Obama’s economic program was more explicitly social democratic than it actually is.

(And please note that as a proud Jewish feminist, I despise Stalin and his crimes every bit as much as you do.)

A few months ago, though, I came across online audiotapes of Terkel conducting an interview with Eugene Sledge back in the ’80′s. Sledge was a combat Marine in the Pacific in WWII and wrote a harrowing, classic account of those brutal island battles, “With the Old Breed.”

Listening to the interviews, I was struck by (and eventually annoyed with) how often Terkel interupted Sledge to try and put forth his own interpretation of the events Sledge had lived through. He seemed to be trying to get Sledge to admit that the Marines were just as bad as the Japanese. Sledge clearly did not buy this. I began muttering, “Shut up, Terkel and let the man talk! He’s the one who was on Okinawa, not you!”

I wondered after that where Terkel got his reputation for being such a great interviewer. He seemed far more interested in talking than listening.