The "Keating Five" McCain campaign has been so desperate to smear Obama rather than give people reasons to vote for their candidate. This desperation has gotten so intense that they have people saying that Barack Obama is a "radical Muslim" in one statement and that Obama is a "Marxist" in another.

Oops!

Now, it would be difficult to be a true Marxist and embrace any religion. However, one might note that Marxism has become less pure over the centuries and that it can be possible, though internally inconsistent, to be a religious Marxist. These days, there are even Marxist nationalists, despite Marx's contempt for nationalism. Many have adopted a "cafeteria Marxism" similar to "cafeteria Catholicism" that leaves power mad, rightist Catholics like Joseph Ratzinger in a tizzy.

However, Radical Islam is a religious belief that tolerates no impurities. To be an Islamic fundamentalist, you have to reject all philosophies that threaten Islam, including Marxism, which is based on the view that religion is the "opiate of the masses." (Being a non-Marxist atheist, I can note that the rich are far from immune to religion's opiate effects.)

This is a basic difference between an political/economic doctrine like Marxism or objectivism and a fundamentalist religion. You don't go to Hell if you think that Marx got point 20,320 wrong. If you think that Mohammed got point 923,901 slightly off, you burn forever in the fundie mindset.

Personally, I'm voting McKinney because I'm a liberal and Obama agrees with McCain on more issues than he agrees with liberals. However, I think people who support all candidates need to fight the ignorance and stupidity that pollutes our politics and our culture.