Obama in '98: 'I Actually Believe in Redistribution'

Suddenly Barack Obama has a potentially damaging soundbite of his own to contend with—although his is more than a decade old. The Drudge Report yesterday began promoting audio from 1998 in which he utters the words, "I actually believe in redistribution." Mitt Romney immediately latched onto the comment, mentioning it in his Fox News interview last night.

Of course, New York points out that the clip is actually pretty moderate. Obama points out that some of the attacks on government efficacy "[have] been deserved," and that it's crucial to design social programs "that are actually effective and meet people where they live." Even the redistribution quote is qualified: "I actually believe in redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot." (More Mitt Romney stories.)