No, not because he’s an “appeaser,” and not because he’s a crypto-Rev. Wright-style racist–the standard Republican charges against Obama are silly. We should be afraid because he is just like most Democrats and some Republicans in that he believes the government should run our health care. Even if you don’t get really upset about government intervention in the economy, and I think a lot of conservatives here consider libertarianism a psychosis, we need to worry about socialist health care because it is the wedge for government control of our lives.

Drudge linked today to this story from Sarasota Co., Florida, where the county won’t hire smokers. As an employer bearing part of the cost of its employees’ poor health, the county arguably has the right to discriminate thus (a private employer certainly has such a right). But your employer isn’t the only one who bears some of your medical costs. It was on the grounds of Medicare and Medicaid costs that the states sued the tobacco companies a decade ago.

Once taxpayers are bearing the burden of your health care, doesn’t the government have a right to keep you from smoking? What about eating donuts? What about having too many children? How about refusing to vaccinate your children? Or refusing to teach your 12-year-old daughter about the various methods of birth control? Government health care is a Trojan Horse into your home and your personal choices.

McCain, bad on so many issues regarding government and individual liberty, actually might be decent on health care. Conservatives need to come to grips with the fact that creeping socialism poses an inevitable threat to our ability to live our lives and raise our families as we wish.

This isn’t necessarily reason enough to vote for McCain, but at least a reason to be scared of Obama.

[add, 10:33 pm: my original post did not link to Obama’s step towards socialized medicine, which you can read about here.]