Words Matter

The now famous “you didn’t build that” line from President Obama in a Roanoke, Virginia speech on July 14 may represent the initial turning point in this presidential campaign.

The Obama campaign released a web video ad (see: http://youtu.be/Z0yK5NakN2o) that has Obama himself defending his words against the onslaught of criticism that he has received since then. He claims what he meant was that successful Americans did not build the roads and bridges that helped their businesses run.

Mitt Romney, on the other hand, has hit his stride and is actually demonstrating message command and leadership through this unexpected opportunity (see: A Clear Choice).

While Romney has framed a theme around Obama’s remarks, that government “investments” in infrastructure come from the taxpayers and job creators, and that famous business leaders did build their businesses, Obama is stuck parsing words to state that what he meant was something different than what he said.

The reason Mitt Romney wins this debate hands down and Obama’s out-of-hand dismissals are feeble and weak, is because Obama revealed truth in his off the cuff, preacher-style remarks.

Just like his talk of “spreading the wealth around” to Joe the Plumber in 2008 revealed much truth about the anti-capitalist, class warfare beliefs of the president, the notion that every successful business needed government to get there is anathema to the traditional narrative of the American dream.

Yet they are fundamental to the beliefs of the president that big government, big spending solutions have been and will always be the answer to our economic woes. Should Obama win in November and continue his stimulus-based economics, his administration will resemble the FDR economic plan more and more, in that Roosevelt’s big government spending solutions actually extended the Great Depression and the human suffering that came from it.

It is hard to recall a time when an incumbent president filmed a campaign ad defending his own words as he looked straight into the camera. Presidential campaign ads featuring the incumbent reflect visionary images of America’s bright days ahead, soaring oratory about our exceptional democracy, and glossy biographical portraits of the achievements of the incumbent in good times and bad.

All President Obama has is a script that splits hairs about what he said and dismisses his opponent as part of the 1% who does not get economics and is just another politician.

Leadership is vacated at every turn with this president, both at home and abroad, and his own ad demonstrates that his vision for America is failed and broken.

While American entrepreneurs did build their businesses, all Barack Obama has built is a large campaign staff and a mountain of debt (see: Five Straight Years Of $1 Trillion Deficits!) that we and our children will be responsible to pay off.

Photo credit: infowars.com