UPDATED: Obama, Romney campaigns continue to jockey for position on the president’s Roanoke remarks
President Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
Updated at 8:20 p.m. with response from the Romney campaign to Obama’s ad.
The squabble over “You Didn’t Build That” continues.
The line has taken on a life of its own, giving birth not only to a new internet meme but also at least one news story about lemonade-stand entrepreneurs responding with their take.
The re-election campaign of incumbent President Barack Obama has released a new television ad called “Always” that will run in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Nevada and that takes on what’s become a major GOP talking point. In the ad, Obama directly addresses his comments in Roanoke, and particularly the line “If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that.”
The campaign has dedicated a page of its website to what it calls “misleading attack ads” from the Romeny campaign, including links to posts about the line from the Washington Post and FactCheck.org. (Our own take, posted a week ago, is here.)
The Romney campaign issued this statement on the ad:
“It’s clear what President Obama believes because he told us: ‘if you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.’ He said it, and he meant it.” – Curt Cashour, Virginia Communications Director, Romney for President
In addtion, Romney addressed the quote on CNBC’s Kudlow Report. Here’s an excerpt of his comments from the show’s transcript:
Gov. ROMNEY: Well, just read the whole speech. I found the speech even more disconcerting than just that particular line. The context is worse than the quote. The context, he says, you know, you think you’ve been successful because you’re smart, but he says a lot of people are smart. You think you’ve been successful because you work hard, a lot of people work hard. This is an ideology which says hey, we’re all the same here, we ought to take from all and give to one another and that achievement, individual initiative and risk-taking and success are not to be rewarded as they have in the past. It’s a very strange and in some respects foreign to the American experience type of philosophy. We have always been a nation that has celebrated success of various kinds. The kid that gets the honor roll, the individual worker that gets a promotion, the person that gets a better job. And in fact, the person that builds a business. And by the way, if you have a business and you started it, you did build it. And you deserve credit for that. It was not built for you by government. And by the way, we pay for government. Government doesn’t come free. The people who begin enterprises, the people who work in enterprises, they’re the ones paying for government. So his whole philosophy is an upside-down philosophy that does not comport with the American experience. And if we want to get people working again–and that’s my priority–if we want to get people working again, we have to celebrate success and achievement and not demonize it and denigrate the people who have worked hard, who are smart, who have made the kinds of investments to build a brighter future.
Meanwhile, Republicans are holding a pair of “We Did Build This” events in Richmond and Roanoke tomorrow to talk about the line. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnnell will headline the Richmond event, while Virginia Victory Chairman Pete Snyder and Virginia Del. Chris Head, R-Botetourt County — both business owners — will host the event in Roanoke.
The Roanoke event takes place at Head’s Home Instead Senior Care business on Peters Creek Road at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
– Mason Adams
July 24, 2012 - 5:07 PM
At least the Obama administrations bails on ads that aren’t working. This is a much cleaner nicer approach but they are boring and won’t resonate but to his base.
Also, the Romney ads don’t take his words out of context. They use the President’s words that he said. They just don’t use the entire context of the speech. This is waste of an ad for the President that he has to explain what he was saying. He should have already said it.
As I’ve mentioned on other blogs. It was a mistake/gaffe that was said in Roanoke. Now the President is playing catch up. My guess with he Romney campaign sitting and waiting to spend, they are going to hammer it through our heads soon enough.
Guess what? He didn’t build it on his own. Is the Romney camp really this dumb?
Is the President lying in this ad?
Where in the Roanoke speech in his words, did he say:
“and what I said was, we need to stand behind them (small business)as America always has”
Also, when did this become about “small business” the actual quote was “if you have a business. You didn’t build that.
@2- No, but without him is there a business? The actual quote is “if you have a business. You didn’t build that. Someone else made that happen.”
NOT you didn’t build it on your own.
“…without him is there a business?”
Without the million-plus government dollars is there a business? Look for this ad to disappear from the airwaves in 3…2…1…
Them straws are getting mighty thin, if all Rmoney has is a few cherry-picked soundbites to rally the faithful he’s toast.
@5 – No, there isn’t, but that’s not what the President said.
However, with the rest of the post, I agree. According to reports though, Romney hasn’t really started spending his campaign funds yet, he’s still raising money. I say bring on the damn debates to stop all this nonsense.
Yea, bring on the debates. Without teleprompters the President will sink himself because when he speaks from his heart his socialist progressive world view comes spilling out. But telling the truth about the socialist progressive agenda will never get him elected again. Fool us once shame on you, fool us twice — well you know.
FORWARD in the wrong direction is a very bad thing. Just ask Spain, France and Greece. And you could throw Cuba in there as well.
@7
Spare us the Fox talking points, Will. You wouldn’t know socialism if it bit you in the keister. Are you or your parents on Social Security? Don’t look now, but that makes you socialists, too.
“that’s not what the President said.”
Then we agree, Rmoney’s hatchet-job commercial is NOT what the president said. If I can find it, I’ll link the clip of Rmoney addressing the Olympic athletes, telling them they didn’t get there all by themselves. It just drips hypocrisy, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from the weather vane candidate.
You really can’t make this stuff up.
Bring on the debates!
again, Pray for our President, Psalm 109:08
Obama: I Really Like Business People
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Watch the video of Obama for the full context; watch the facial expressions, watch the body language listen to the words and draw your own conclusions as to who is “twisting the truth” and who is insulting your intelligence.
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http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2012/07/obama-i-really-like-business-people.html
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