President Obama is not a Socialist

Thank you once again Robert Weiler for participating in this debate. I have very much enjoyed it. A quick reminder this round is limited to rebuttals and closing statements, no new arguments per rules laid out in round one. Rebuttals: My opponent says "Obama was not only endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. He attended their meetings and even spoke at their events." I would like to note that President Obama spoke at the event in question almost twenty years ago in February 1996. The other speakers included two political science professors, and expert in the field of the Study of Urban inequality. This event was also sponsored by the University of Chicago Democrats. The title of the event was "Employment and Survival in the Urban America." (1) It is a common practice of organizations to organize events on topics of interest to their group, and then go and find experts in the field to come and speak. Inviting Obama to speak at this event made sense as Barack Obama had ties to the school. He "accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then taught at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years"as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004"teaching constitutional law."(2) He was a member of the faculty at the facility that held the event. No offense intended to my opponent, but if cons strongest argument that Obama is a socialist is that he spoke at an event twenty years ago for a socialist group held at, and sponsored by the school that Obama worked for, then this debate is all but over. Con has stated "Obama was deeply connected to this organization and continues to associate with others who are as well." Sorry if this seems redundant, but people often associate "deeply" with individuals with whom they disagree. For example, I am an independent with close friends who are Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, and so on. That does not in any way make me associated with those groups. It is prudent to notice that in the link you provide that lists President Obama"s ties to the Democratic Socialist of America provides no proof of membership. Also curious is that my opponent say"s Obama "was" connected to DSA. I would like to remind my opponent that this debate is about whether or not Obama "is" a socialist. Though I would contend that he never was, My burden of proof is to show that he is not one now. I have filled this burden of proof. I am unsure which quote my opponent was referring to when he said "I can not find a video of Obama saying the quote I used in the previous round. The fact that it was so widely reported and never denied by the administration shows it to be likely accurate." It matters not as both the quote "judge me by the people with whom I surround myself," or going "Bulworth" do not tie President Obama to Socialism. Why would the president deny saying either, as neither one provide any depth to, or understanding of, the Presidents ideals. It seems irrational that my opponent would want to use vague, unclear, and unverifiable quotes to identify the president as a socialist, and yet ignore the well document quote that I used where the president states "People call me a socialist sometimes. But no, you've got to meet real socialists. (Laughter.) You'll have a sense of what a socialist is. (Laughter.) I'm talking about lowering the corporate tax rate. My health care reform is based on the private marketplace. The stock market is looking pretty good last time I checked." (3) Here is a video of the same quote" Closing Statements: Abraham Lincoln once said "How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four, calling a tail a leg doesn"t make it a leg."(4) The same is true of Obama, While their do exist some who refer to him a socialist, calling him one does not make him one. President Obama is not a member of any socialist party. His policies have been strongly based on a private economy as is empirically evident by the ACA. He has not attempted to "organize a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government."(5) He does not identify as a socialist. Socialist do not claim him as one of their own. President Obama is not a socialist Vote Pro! (1)http://keywiki.org... (2)http://en.wikipedia.org... (3)http://socialistworker.org... (4)http://www.brainyquote.com... (5)http://www.merriam-webster.com...