QUESTIONS NOBODY IS ASKING: “When Did Everyone Become a Socialist?” asks New York magazine, in a sort of reverse Pauline Kael moment. To which Reason’s Elizabeth Nolan Brown responds:

Now, I’m not one to begrudge a bit of editorial hyperbole. But the New York coverline—a more accurate and boring rendering of which would be something like “socialism is trendy again”—provides a good jumping off point for the latest numbers on Americans, socialism, and capitalism.

In a national NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday, respondents were asked about what traits are desirable in a presidential candidate and what traits they could do without. Overall, most people were comfortable with “an African-American” (87 percent), “a white man” (86 percent), or “a woman” (84 percent) becoming president. Majorities were comfortable with “a person who is gay or lesbian” (68 percent), “an independent” (60 percent), “someone under 40” (58 percent), “a business executive” (56 percent), or “an evangelical Christian” (54 percent) winning the presidency.

And a near-majority (49 percent) said they would be OK with a Muslim president of the United States.

Trailing significantly behind in acceptance were two traits. Only 37 percent of respondents said they would be OK with a president over 75 years old, and just 25 percent said they would be OK with a president who is a socialist.

Another poll question asked whether respondents viewed the term socialism positively. Just 18 percent did.

A full 50 percent viewed it negatively—a near mirror split from respondents’ views on capitalism. Half of those surveyed said they viewed capitalism positively, versus 19 percent who viewed it negatively.

As we’ve seen with both AOC and NBC’s radical environmentalism, amnesia is a very important component of the socialist mindset. (“It’s never been properly tried!” and all that.) But that amnesia is particularly curious given the Beatlemania feel of Obama’s first months for the left: