'Socialist' Not a Slur for Many, Poll Finds

May 6, 2010— -- Calling President Obama a "socialist" may not carry the punch some of his opponents had hoped for, given a new poll that found Americans are "not so negative" about the word and young people have essentially the same feelings about "socialism" as they do the word "capitalism."

Americans generally view the word "capitalism" more favorably than the word "socialism," according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, but respondents were "not so negative" about "socialism" and "not so positive" about "capitalism" as one might expect.

"'Socialism' is a negative for most Americans but certainly not all Americans. 'Capitalism' is regarded positively by a majority of the public, though it is a thin majority," read the Pew study, which found Democrats and young people rated the terms "about equally."

Young people, the survey found, "are more positive about 'socialism' -- and more negative about 'capitalism' -- than are older Americans."

The survey asked people to respond to the words themselves not the policies they inspire, leading some experts to wonder whether most Americans even know what the words mean.

Respondents younger than 30 were tied on their feelings about "socialism" and "capitalism," with identically positive reactions -- 43 percent -– to both words.

The survey conducted among 1,546 adults in April measured reactions to nine political words and phrases.

"Overall, 29 percent [of respondents] say they have a positive reaction to the word 'socialism,' while 59 percent react negatively," according to Pew. "The public's impressions of 'capitalism,' though far more positive, are somewhat mixed. Slightly more than half (52 percent) react positively to the word 'capitalism,' compared with 37 percent who say they have a negative reaction."

The word "socialism" re-entered the political discourse as a smear against then-Sen. Barack Obama in the final weeks of the 2008 presidential campaign. It has again become a popular watchword among members of the Tea Party movement, who have blasted Obama administration policies, particularly health care overhaul, as socialist.