RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama brushed aside Republican charges that his tax plan amounts to socialism on Wednesday, but acknowledged it involves “spreading around opportunity” so that wealthier Americans — like himself — pay a little more to help lower-rung workers. Obama noted when President Bush’s tax cuts were first proposed, Republican John McCain opposed them as irresponsibly targeted. “Was John McCain a socialist back in 2000?” Obama asked at a news conference.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]