Suddenly he's not a socialist.

Last Thursday, President Obama unveiled a new plan to bring high speed rail to the United States in full force. While the 8 billion that is initially going to be spent is small change compared to what really has to be done, it is a start. As he made the announcement and discussed how it would benefit trade and our economy, I was reminded of President Eisenhower's plan for a national highway system.

At the time, the wealthiest people in this country were taxed at a whopping 91 percent of their income and some of that money went to build the infrastructure that built highways like Interstate 35 that runs from Duluth in my home state all the way down to Texas. Imagine that...a Republican using the government to make the economy better.

Of course, that would never happen today as it is quite clear to 58 million Americans that President Obama is going to "drag us into that European cesspool of socialism" as a conservative friend of mine recently reminded me. That number of 58 million just got a little smaller, though, as a friend of mine's railroad products company (his dad owns the company and he sits on the board of directors) has suddenly seen the light. Most everyone there has been pretty right wing and very much Obama loathers...that is until last Thursday.

As if out of someone's ass (where it all started to begin with), President Obama is a great guy! And not a socialist at all...