I say "putative" because the right-wing pundits have been calling Obama "socialist" not because he is seen as one. As for "European ears", I always seek to be polite enough to allow the denizens of any culture the right to judge and define their own culture. It's not for me to say. Among my people, it's generally considered VERY rude to criticize another culture. I'll just say, yet again, that the only truly ignorant people are the ones who ascribe certain qualities to all the members of any group -- be they gay people, black people, Europeans or Americans or what-have-you. Such generalizations usually say more about the percipient's need to demean than it does any outer reality. ;)