Defining Moments
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. It's fun to imagine the hand-wringing that must be going on within the White House as staffers try to figure out how to undo the damage their boss has done with his anti-entrepenurial riff. Defining moments in politics are strange beasts. Sometimes they're only recognized in hindsight, while sometimes they throw the train off the tracks before a sentence has been completed. Sometimes their effect can be contained and minimized, while sometimes their effect on the political narrative mestastasizes. This one is very bad for the White House.
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.
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Aug '10
Re: Defining Moments
KC Mulville: Agreed.
James Taranto of the WSJ discussed Obama's gaffe in his Best of the Web yesterday. The White House defenders are claiming that the quote was taken out of context. They're claiming that when Obama said "you didn't build that," the [that] wasn't referring to the business that entrepreneurs built, but the roads and bridges.
To which I (along with others) reply: so what? The antecedent of that reference may be misplaced, but it hardly contradicts the meaning of Obama's argument. · 35 minutes ago
Indeed, even a charitable reading of the quote (which requires believing that the president made a grammatical error--using "that", rather than "those", when referring to roads and bridges) shows disdain for the contributions of businesses to the tax base that supports infrastructure.
Furthermore, the part of the quote where he says the following is disturbing (I'm paraphrasing): Hey, you think you're successful because you're so smart and you work so hard? Well, there are a lot of smart and hardworking people out there. He seems to be saying that success depends mostly on luck. Such a view makes it easier to shake down the "lucky".
Mar '11
Re: Defining Moments
Part of the American Dream is a reliance, not on roads and bridges and other such physical infrastructure, but upon a consistent and equitable legal infrastructure that treats all fairly and upon which people can rely.
Had Obama spoken of the fruits of government in providing a stable regulatory environment, with respect for private property and predictable law enforcement, there would be few who quibbled. Of course, he cannot speak of such fruits, as his Administration has not provided any.
Edited on July 19, 2012 at 6:49pmJun '10
Re: Defining Moments
That post you wrote - you didn't write that.
Aug '10
Re: Defining Moments
You can read an interview discussing Carter's "Amy is my nuclear weapons advisor" debate comment at this PBS link:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/interviews/carter.html
Feb '12
Re: Defining Moments
Kevin Walker
Furthermore, the part of the quote where he says the following is disturbing (I'm paraphrasing): Hey, you think you're successful because you're so smart and you work so hard? Well, there are a lot of smart and hardworking people out there. He seems to be saying that success depends mostly on luck. Such a view makes it easier to shake down the "lucky". · 2 minutes ago
In fairness to the President (and Lord knows I don't like to be) success doesn't come from being smart or hard-working. His inference that success comes from luck is still wrong, but he's right that brains and effort don't equal success.
Success comes from creating value. You can be the smartest person alive and work a hundred hours a week, but if you aren't producing a product or rendering a service for which people are willing to pay, you will remain unsuccessful.
Aug '10
Re: Defining Moments
"this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image"
What a difference a day makes !!
Yeah Roanoke ! That was the moment when the rise of the Obama began to slow and our media began to squeal.
Not so fast there !
Jul '10
Re: Defining Moments
The smartest president since Benjamin Franklin!
Apr '12
Re: Defining Moments
What is more likely - Axelrod shaving his moustache or Obama speaking off-teleprompter again. Obama unplugged leads to Joe the Plumber moments.
Mar '11
Re: Defining Moments
I hope you're right, but after "The Private Sector is doing fine" faded to nothing in two days, I'm not optimistic this will take hold.
Jun '12
Re: Defining Moments
Nathaniel Wright: You can read an interview discussing Carter's "Amy is my nuclear weapons advisor" debate comment at this PBS link:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/interviews/carter.html · 40 minutes ago
Thank you Nathaniel!
Aug '11
Re: Defining Moments
Everyone remember last fall when the President warned that if he wasn't re-elected, we might enter a new, painful era of self-reliance?
This "You didn't build that" is all part of the same vision.
Nov '11
Re: Defining Moments
Y'all are missing the point.
From Julius Caesar to Cesar Chavez to Hugo Chavez, this is an old political trick: the process of making the unspeakable speakable, making the shameful respectable.
Obama said what he said very purposefully.
Among democratic peoples, envy (an uglier aspect of love of equality) is the most powerful political emotion.
Indisputably, we are a nation of takers.
Half pay no federal income tax. Even among those paying some taxes, the vast majority take much, much more out of the pot than they put in.
(On the day you die, will you have paid in more than you took out? Self-righteously, you probably think, "Yes," but the answer is almost certainly, "No.")
Most Americans, in their heart of hearts, envy success and enjoy seeing successful people kicked down. But they would feel ashamed to say such a thing out loud. So Obama says it for them, and he says it with just enough grammatical fuzziness and just enough of a patina of moral justification to avoid the obvious appearance of ignoble low class covetousness.
When he wins reelection, such statements and such sentiments, made explicit and respectable, will form Obama's mandate for governing.
Edited on July 19, 2012 at 9:17pmJul '12
Re: Defining Moments
I think the "stickiness" of the comment is that it is completely in keeping with the Obama's overall narrative. In other words, it would not resonate, if it was not veryclear that this statement was just a continuation of his previous thoughts.
May '10
Re: Defining Moments
You can find it here and the debate is on YouTube
Jul '10
Re: Defining Moments
Amy Schley
In fairness to the President (and Lord knows I don't like to be) success doesn't come from being smart or hard-working. His inference that success comes from luck is still wrong, but he's right that brains and effort don't equal success.
I don't think anyone's disputing that, any more than anyone disputed Liz Warren's point that infrastructure and fire service helps business.
But the President (and Warren) aren't just making these points in a vacuum - they're making them in the context of pushing higher taxes. The underlying rhetoric is "you owe us - pay up".
As P.J. O'Rourke once said, "They haven't killed the golden goose, but they are chasing it around the yard with an axe".
Dec '10
Re: Defining Moments
Nathaniel Wright: You can read an interview discussing Carter's "Amy is my nuclear weapons advisor" debate comment at this PBS link:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/interviews/carter.html · 2 hours ago
Slightly off-topic, but I just have to point out that what Carter attempted to do with Amy on the subject of nukes is exactly the same thing Obama did with his girls on SSM. It's all the standard liberal appeal to emotion and youth worship.
The only thing worse than having Carter or Obama at the helm would be having one of their teenage daughters as head of state, although the daughters would undoubtedly be less arrogant.
Jun '10
Re: Defining Moments
Okay, guys. See that avatar to the right? Prepare to get a well-placed hoof of reality to your "well, now he's gone and blown it" spot.
Before he was electionized, he responded (approximately) to the statement that raising taxes can bring in less money to the Government. His response was that although that may be true, it's more "fair."
So you can make the entire nation less wealthy overall, but at least it's more fair.
And, of course, remember, "redistribution is good for everybody."
The people who were rightly offended by those statements are now the same ones offended by "you didn't do it." And the same people who elected him by 7(?) points didn't care about either set of statements.
It's about turnout, doncha know...turnout.
Jun '11
Re: Defining Moments
Sens. McCaskill, Tester, and Manchin are all staying away from the Democrat Convention but I think Manchin would be the only one to "denounce" Obama.
Driving through West Virginia last week I saw 3 huge anti-Obama billboards along I-77. Two showed a map of all of coal country (PA, KY, & VA in addition to WV) as Obama's Anti-Jobs zone. The third was right at the point where everyone stops to pay the toll getting on the Southbound WV turnpike. It had a picture of Joe Manchin between Obama and EPA head Lisa Jackson. It was very strong anti-Manchin/ Obama stuff. If the polling gets bad enough, Sen. Manchin could very well denounce the President.
May '11
Re: Defining Moments
"Most Americans, in their heart of hearts, envy success and enjoy seeing successful people kicked down. But they would feel ashamed to say such a thing out loud. So Obama says it for them, and he says it with just enough grammatical fuzziness and just enough of a patina of moral justification to avoid the obvious appearance of ignoble low class covetousness.
When he wins reelection, such statements and such sentiments, made explicit and respectable, will form Obama's mandate for governing."
Obviously I hope he doesn't win reelection but that is what we are looking at.
Aug '10
Re: Defining Moments
Good to see this Sajak moment at Powerline.
Edited on July 20, 2012 at 1:48am