President Obama is apparently spending way too much time with Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  The Veep and the Leader are both well-known for making inane comments, with numerous websites devoted to their malapropisms.  While President Obama is not likely to catch up to either one of them, his statement regarding the underlying reason for individuals’ success during a rally on July 16 in Roanoke, Virginia, matches up with some of the more ridiculous Bidenisms and Reidisms.

The President’s comment that “if you own a business, you didn’t build that” was absurd enough on its face; taken in context, it is an even more damning indictment of his view of the role of government versus the private sector.  While talking about how there are allegedly many rich people that want to pay more in taxes, the president said the following:

“There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me because  they want to give something back. If you’ve been  successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own.  I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so  smart. There are a lot of smart people out there.  It must be because I  worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a  whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

“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.” [At least he didn't invoke Al Gore at that point.]

The President apparently believes in the “Great Government” like Linus believes in the “Great Pumpkin.” And it would not be surprising if at some future event, the President wore a giant “government ring” and asked people to kiss it in order to receive the government’s blessing for their bounty.

While the President has constantly been criticized for his lack of business experience and understanding of how the private sector operates, including my January 13, 2012 op-ed in the Washington Times, his remarks yesterday were an insult to every American who works hard, regardless of their level of success. He also reiterated his intentions for a second term – establishing a bigger and more intrusive government that will destroy individual initiative and many of the freedoms that Americans have enjoyed for centuries.

In the “Out of Touch Wars” reality show that has been on display during the presidential campaign, Mitt Romney has been hit hard by Democrats for allegedly being removed from the experiences of ordinary Americans due to his wealth. Republicans have fought back, citing the President as being equally if not more detached due to his lack of business  experience and love of big government.  Yesterday’s round went to the Republicans, and they didn’t even have to throw a punch.

 

Filed under: Big Government, In The News, Internet, Waste