Remember when liberals were wringing their hands and accusing President George W. Bush of being a dictator and a king? Of course, that was breathtakingly absurd, but what's really ironic is that these people actually want a king, provided they get to pick him.

As Barack Obama feverishly presses forward with his socialist agenda, one wonders whether any act of executive overreaching might cause the compliant, nay, conspiratorial Democratic congressional majorities to pause or, better yet, to resist.

I think not. Every assault Obama inflicts on the budget is met by Congress with: "Thank you, sir. May I have another?"

I realize liberals take umbrage at the pejorative terms "Marxist" and "socialist," but in invoking them, my purpose is neither to exaggerate nor to provoke. If the terms bother you, could you please tell me how Obama would be behaving differently if he were a socialist or Marxist just elected in this country?

Better yet, given the policies Obama and Congress are cramming down our throats, please tell me why you even mind those terms? Why not wear them proudly?

Just before the election, I wrote: "With (Obama's) ideas about spreading the wealth, entrepreneurial selfishness … (and) the inherent evil of corporations … are you not concerned at just how far Obama might go if he's got a nearly veto-proof Democratic majority at his back? … Before our very eyes, America stands poised to elect as president the most radical man ever to run for this office credibly. Don't say we didn't warn you."

Some, including certain highbrow right-wingers, accused me of hyperventilating. They told us knuckle draggers that Obama is pragmatic and centrist and that we should just calm down and give him a chance. We responded that we didn't have the luxury of being calm, because if we let our guard down, Obama would rush through his agenda before we had time to react.

Tell me, now that we're five weeks into this administration, which of us has egg on his face?

It's not just elitist conservatives. I'd also like to know how self-professed conservative Democrats, who have always vehemently denied their liberalism, would explain their blind faith today. At this point, I swear they'd walk off a cliff for Obama if he told them to.

Even if some on both sides of the aisle are slow to grasp this, what we're really witnessing here is the fury of liberal power unleashed. In the name of compassion and fairness, they are exerting increasing control over our lives and using the economic crisis as cover, as they seek federal power to:

--Further dictate our children's education curricula. "In this budget, we will end education programs that don't work." Where did we get the idea that Washington is better-suited for this than our local school boards?

--Increase their control over Americans' private health care decisions.

--Run banks and set salary caps for corporate CEOs -- something that ought to horrify free market adherents everywhere, even those suspicious of excessive corporate salaries.

--Prohibit corporate perks and private-jet trips while sanctioning their own taxpayer-sponsored ones.

--Decide who is worthy of being relieved of irresponsible home-purchasing decisions.

--Discourage charitable giving with their further phasing out of charitable deductions.

--Dole out money to "worthy" municipalities in order to position themselves as micromanaging federal enforcers: "Nobody messes with Joe Biden."

--Replace the free market as the engine of economic growth. You can't watch Obama operate without concluding he truly believes that government, not the private sector, generates wealth in this nation.

--Be the arbiter of income distribution for all citizens.

--Impose paralyzing cap and trade mandates on private corporations based on dubious, disputed, non-consensus-based "science," which amounts to nothing more than another tax on private industry and flies directly in the face of Obama's promises to be friendly to small business.

Almost as alarming as the foregoing, President Obama is engaged in what seems to be a deliberate effort to talk down the economy for the presumed purpose of ensuring our panic mode represses a stock market recovery long enough to fuel his frantic agenda.

Adding insult to injury, at a time when these liberals are growing government in areas never contemplated by our Founders nor authorized by the Constitution, they are eviscerating the defense budget, relaxing our foreign policy toward enemy dictators and, in effect, unilaterally declaring the war on terror over and forcing us to revert to our pre-9/11 mode of treating the war as a law enforcement matter.

If we could afford to let down our guard and sleep during this period, I'd be inclined to do so and ask whether someone would please be so kind as to awaken me when this nightmare is over.