You Didn't Build That-Part I

When the history of the 2012 Presidential election is written, historians may cite the statement that President Obama made in Roanoke, Virginia on July 13, 2012 as the seminal moment that defined the campaign.

This is the statement that I am taking about.

"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that.  Somebody else made that happen. " 

However, he also said this shortly before he made that statement.

"Look, 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."

There are very few times in a Presidential campaign when you see the very essence of what a candidate truly believes. What is in his mind and in his heart. So much is orchestrated and on teleprompters that we rarely get that true glimpse.

However, at this speech in Roanoke the President was not using the ubiquitous teleprompters that we have come to expect with an Obama speech. According to The Hill, President Obama is trying to wean himself off of the teleprompter in order to be more spontaneous and better connect with voters on the campaign trail.

The two statements above clearly appeared to be off-script remarks.

One of the best comments I have seen in reaction to Obama's remarks was by Pat Sajak, the "Wheel of Fortune host, who is also a rare Hollywood conservative. This is how he described it in a commentary on Ricochet where he harkens back to other famous defining moments for (in order) Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, Dan Quayle and Gerald Ford.

It's as if President Obama climbed into a tank, put on his helmet, talked about how his foray into Cambodia was seared in his memory, looked at his watch, misspelled "potato" and pardoned Richard Nixon all in the same day....

Sajak sees this as a similar moment.

 These defining moments take hold most devastatingly when they confirm what a large portion of the electorate already believes. Taken alone, it seems unfair that a single moment, an unguarded remark or a slip of the tongue can carry such weight. They're often dismissed as "gotcha" moments, but when voters are able to nod and say, "I knew it," these moments stick and do terrible damage. We have witnessed such a moment. 

I won't go that far because it remains to be seen how this will all play out.  In the other examples, the real damage was done with consistent repetition in the media of the original faux pax. This made it stick with the public.  It is unlikely the mainstream media is going to do that to Barack Obama.  The heavy lifting on that will have to come from the Romney campaign.

What I did find very interesting in the Obama statement is how closely it resembles dialogue that is in Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged, that I have written about before.   Ayn Rand's 1957 novel is about the collapse of society as the most productive citizens go on strike, led by the mysterious John Galt, rather than continue to be exploited by a controlling government.  Rand grew up in Russia and saw the flaws of communism, socialism, statism and the welfare state first hand in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Remember that this is a book written in 1957 that is set in a future USA whose economy is collapsing as the most productive people in society slowly check out rather than deal with increased taxation, regulation and the general overreach of government.    


Rearden (in the dialogue below) is the owner of a steel company who has invented and produced a wondrous new metal alloy for rail lines that is making high speed rail travel a reality (remember this is written in 1957).  What has government done in response?  A raft of new laws have been passed directed at Rearden and his success.  He must limit his output of the new metal.  Another law requires him to sell "a fair share" to everyone who requests it, regardless of output.  There is no way that his company can survive long term if they have to follow the new rules.


Consider this dialogue which is in Part I, Chapter 9 of Atlas Shrugged as it is argued why government is fair in taxing and regulating Rearden the way that they are. (Credit to Chris who made this comment to an Ann Althouse blog who pointed this out)

“He didn’t invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”

“Who?”

“Rearden. He didn’t invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn’t have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it’s his? Why does he think it’s his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”

She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn’t anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?”

It is almost eerie how closely President Obama remarks parallel a book written over 50 years ago as a cautionary tale on the dangers of socialism and collectivism.

This election, perhaps more than any other since the election of 1860, is about a choice of two very different paths for the future of our country. President Obama for the most part cleverly disguised his true intentions and agenda four years ago. His speech in Roanoke should make it clear that he wants to take the country in a direction that is far removed from the principles that made us the greatest country in the history of mankind.

The only question left is whether a majority of the voters in this country still believe in personal initiative, freedom, accountability, creativity, rational self-interest and individual incentive as the foundations of success-both for individuals and for societies.

President Obama does not seem to believe that these principles have been that important in creating what made the United States great. He seems to think it has been luck. More on that in Part II of "You Didn't Build That".