“If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
"The point is, when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires."We are not supposed to take the President at his word (words) "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
What he meant was that if "you have a business" all the people who "invested in roads and bridges" "made" your business "happen." That is, "government" made your business happen.
Charles Krauthammer explains how pathetically dumb (and revealing) Obama's statement is.
UPDATE: When it comes to his own administration, Cronyism Built That.
UPDATE II: At the end of his embarrassingly unscripted "You didn't build that..." speech, the president tried to rescue himself by saying this...
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.It was the equivalent of golfer getting his driver trapped behind him on the downswing, realizing it, and flipping his wrists to save the shot. But by that time, the ball was gone and in the weeds.
The cracks in the president's swing are beginning to show. He's hoping to win his match against Romney by yelling during his backswing "YOU SUCK!" Not very presidential or sportsmanlike but, it's all he's got. If Romney can keep from being distracted and his eye on the ball, he could be 4 up at the turn and coasting to victory.
The Truth is that if you are fortunate enough to be at the helm of a successful company it is sheer arrogance and completely inaccurate to claim that you built your company with your own two hands, unless that company is a one man operation. Romney when eschewing Obama for trying to point that out made his arrogance, and the ignorance of the right wing clear as day when he claimed that Henry Ford built the Ford Motor Company all by himself. Thing is, he didn't. And further more, Henry Ford didn't make that claim. He wasn't that arrogant or ungrateful. Henry Ford recognized that without the workers who made his cars, there would be no Ford Motor Company and he would not be wealthy. He even famously insisted that his workers be paid enough that they could afford to buy the products they made! Yes, we are all in this together. And no, none of us make it all on our own. This country was not founded on the notion of all for me none for you. What made this country great was the notion that united we stand, divided we fall!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Anonymous, but you missed the point. Did Henry Ford build Ford Motor Company by himself? No one will argue that he did not have workers who helped him build it. But no one can deny that without his vision and leadership Ford Motor Compan would not have every been what it became. You are correct, in my opinion, that united we stand, divided we fail. And I hope you will look at the Obama campaign's attempt to divide any semblance of unity in their attempt to continue in office... If you do, you will see who the dividers are and will come to understand it is their objective that we fail...
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