I disagree with many things Obama and the Democrats have done and want to do. I agree that he might be categorized as a statist, and maybe as a European-style social democrat. That doesn’t make me or anyone else an extremist.

As I said in the article, there aren’t many true extremists on either the left or the right. Too many people, however, agree with extremists on their side of the spectrum without appreciating the implications behind that kind of thinking.

Obama, like his predecessor, is just a man trying to do his best in the most difficult job in the world. They both love their country and want to do the right thing, although their perceptions of what the right thing is are different. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing with one or the other.

True extremism is reflected in statements like:

— Obama is a crypto-Muslim socialist communist whose real agenda is to destroy America.

— George Bush is the same as Hitler; his goal is to make his rich friends richer and he doesn’t care about minorities and the poor.

We see that kind of nonsense all over the place, and I think all of us should oppose it, particularly when it comes from someone whose views you otherwise agree with.

When extremists are in power (as they are now) any widely divergent viewpoint appears to be extremist and speaking your mind about where you honestly see the country going makes you sound like a crackpot or a conspiracy theorist.

Just calling Obama a statist — which he most definately is — puts me in the extremist category. Well sometimes you have to call it as you see it or you are worse than an extremist — you’re a traitor to what you believe.