You didn't build that

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Campaign event
Official portrait of Barack Obama
DateFriday July 13, 2012 (2012-07-13)
Time7:25EDT
LocationRoanoke Fire Station #1
Coordinates37°16′N 79°56′W / 37.27°N 79.94°W / 37.27; -79.94 (13 East Church Avenue)
Also known asThe Roanoke incident[1]
FootageC-SPAN

"You didn't build that" is a phrase from a speech delivered by President Barack Obama on July 13, 2012 in Roanoke, Virginia. It was an election campaign speech given outside Roanoke Fire Station #1,[4][5] during which Obama spoke about the ways in which successful businesses rely on both individual initiative and infrastructure.[3][6][7][8]

The Romney campaign used the phrase "you didn't build that", taken from Obama's speech, to create an election advertisement;[9] the Obama campaign said that the statement was taken out of context.[6][7][8] Conservative commentators were critical of what they viewed as the excerpted quote and Obama's opinion of the relationship of businesses and government.[10][11] Fact-checking organizations and liberal commentators were critical of what they viewed as misrepresentations of Obama's speech by the Romney campaign.[12][13][14]

Speech

On a campaign swing through Virginia, Obama stopped in Roanoke to speak to supporters.[15] The stop lasted for over an hour and involved former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Senator Mark Warner.[3] During the event, Obama spoke about multiple topics; when speaking about business he stated the following:

There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -- because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- 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.

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.

The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.

— President Barack Obama[16]

Response

Although the remark wasn't initially seen as significant, it soon gained traction,[17] and it became a hashtag on Twitter.[7] According to David Weigel of Slate, the first news story regarding the speech was done by Fox News.[18][19] Additionally, the statement "You didn't build that" has become a meme with multiple images using it on the internet.[20][21]

Commentators

An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on the 17th of July stated that the speech is a "burst of ideological candor" and that the statement meant that "the self-made man is an illusion".[22] In another Wall Street Journal piece, James Taranto wrote that "The president's remark was a direct attack on the principle of individual responsibility, the foundation of American freedom."[23] Later Kimberley Strassel, wrote that the portion of the speech which spoke about Obama's views on the relationship between business and government was similar to statements made by Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and that the effect of the speech was to "suck away the president's momentum."[24]

In The Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin wrote that the statement showed that Obama "revealed a level of resentment toward the private sector that was startling, even to his critics.", and that the speech reflects that "the anti-business assaults become the campaign. Meanwhile, his affection for government becomes a chip on his shoulder, prompting him to dare those private-sector wise guys to deny the centrality of government in their success."[10] Later, Glenn Kessler said that the Obama statement was taken out of context and that he was speaking about infrastructure.[25]

In The Atlantic, Andrew Cline wrote that what Obama said was an "enormous controversy—a philosophical rewriting of the American story" and that "With his Roanoke speech, Obama turned Jefferson on his head. In Obama's formulation, government is not a tool for the people's use, but the very foundation upon which all of American prosperity is built. Government is not dependent upon the people; the people are dependent upon the government." This, Cline writes, is fundamentally non-Jeffersonian.[11] Earlier in the same publication, Clive Crook wrote that Obama's statements did not mean what his critics wrote they meant, but that the caricature resonates due to it being recognizable as part of his theme of the "rich aren't paying their fair share".[26] Jonah Goldberg, in the National Review, wrote that Obama's "gaffe" was at best truism, and the reason for Obama's supporters attacking others, for taking Obama's words and progressive roots seriously, is because they do not portray Obama as a pragmatist and a moderate.[27]

Guy Benson, on Townhall.com, wrote that the Romney campaign did not take Obama's words out of context since "Obama essentially posits that no private or individual success is possible in America without the government's help."[28] Rush Limbaugh has commented that business owners did build the roads and bridges through their taxes, and that Obama wants to socialize private profit.[29][30] Mark Levin, in reaction to the speech, said that Obama was "disrespecting the American people" and that "he despises the capitalist system."[31] Josh Barro, in Bloomberg, wrote that Obama's speech was needlessly insulting, and that the statement resonates badly with people of all income levels; later he quoted Sam Seaborn in the television show The West Wing in regards to progressive taxation.[32]

In researching the 2002 Winter Olympics, NBC News' Domenico Montanaro found that Romney made a similar statement during his speech during those game's opening ceremony, where he said:

Tonight we cheer the Olympians, who only yesterday were children themselves. As we watch them over the next 16 days, we affirm that our aspirations, and those of our children and grandchildren, can become reality. We salute you Olympians – both because you dreamed and because you paid the price to make your dreams real. You guys pushed yourself, drove yourself, sacrificed, trained and competed time and again at winning and losing.
You Olympians, however, know you didn't get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities. All right!

— Mitt Romney[33]

Eugene Kiely wrote on FactCheck.org that the Romney campaign and Republicans have used quotations from the speech out of context, failing to include Obama's remarks about how infrastructure and education promote business success. In an update to the post, Kiely added responses from the Obama campaign explaining the president's intended meanings of infrastructure and education. Kiely admitted "We don’t know what the president had in mind when he uttered those words, and his intent is not clear. Regardless, our conclusion is the same: Taking snippets of his speech ignores the larger context of the president’s meaning that a business owner does not become successful 'on your own.'" Kiely however commended Romney for acknowledging Obama's wider context in a July 17 campaign speech Romney gave criticizing Obama's "You didn't build that" remark.[12] Politifact also criticized Romney advertisements, saying that the Romney campaign "cherry-picked a quote that made it sound like Obama was dismissive of businesses when in fact he was making a point that success comes from the combination of "individual initiative" and the fact that "we do things together."", and that by doing so "Romney and his supporters have misled viewers and given a false impression."[13]

In the Huffington Post, Michael Smerconish wrote that the Romney campaign did take the words out of context, and that the message of the importance of social contracts were better worded by Elizabeth Warren.[34] Nelson Davis, president of Nelson Davis Productions, rebuked the conservatives' take on what Obama had said in Roanoke, saying that the reason why the United States has become great is due to business and government working together.[35] Keeping with the "You didn't build that" meme, Alan Colmes wrote that Romney will not have sewed his suit, would not have built the stage used during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, and that his success at Bain Capital would not have been possible without government assistance.[36] Additionally, Anthony Gregory of The Independent Institute, wrote that the implication of the speech was "The state protects business interests so taxpayers have a partial claim on the wealth produced."[37]

In the New York Magazine, Jonathan Chait wrote that Romney use of the words from the Roanoke speech as a "plan of blatantly lying" about it, and the reason why it works is because of a "broader subtext" of the speech due to Obama not using his normal voice, but speaking with a "black dialect".[38] In Bloomberg Businessweek, Charles Kenny of the Center for Global Development also criticized the Romney campaign for taking the word out of context, and went on to state that American businesses benefit from infrastructure, and other elements of the "system" which Obama was speaking about in the speech.[39] Media Matters has made several post targeting Fox News,[40][41][42] and other news source who they view as using Obama's words out of context through "deceptive" editing.[43] Ezra Klein, on The Rachel Maddow Show, said that the political statements made in the Roanoke speech, were not particularly controversial and that people rely on others and themselves.[44]

On The Daily Show, a news satire program, Jon Stewart said that the Romney campaign was centering its campaign on a grammatical misstep taken out of context;[45][46][47][48] he additionally said that both campaigns are guilty of focusing on gaffes.[49] On The Colbert Report, another news satire program, Stephen Colbert, keeping with the theme of the Obama quote used by the Romney campaign, attempted to do a segment of the program as a one man show using an iPhone, desk lamp, and a whiteboard.[49][50][51] On The Tonight Show, Jay Leno during his opening monologue made a play on Obama's statement in regards to unemployment.[52] Additionally, the controversy created by the speech has become the subject of numerous editorial cartoons.[53]

Romney campaign

File:You didnt build that shirt.jpg
T-shirt emblazoned with "You didn't build that"

The following Monday, the 16th of July, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney spoke about the "you didn't build that" statement in a campaign stump speech.[7] The following day, Romney rebuffed Obama's statement in Pennsylvania by saying:

To say that Steve Jobs didn’t build Apple, that Henry Ford didn’t build Ford Motors, that Papa John didn’t build Papa John Pizza ... To say something like that, it’s not just foolishness. It’s insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator in America,

— Mitt Romney[17]

This was followed by campaign events with small business owners in multiple states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Virginia, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Nevada);[54] two small business owners who spoke at one of the campaign events in Florida have government contracts.[55] A new part of the Romney campaign website was created,[56][57] and merchandise related to the statement was produced.[58]

Obama campaign

On the 17th of July the Obama campaign stated that the statement was taken out of context,[8] and as the statement gained traction the campaign ran new ads in multiple states (Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Nevada) where the President directly counter's Romney's claims.[59][60] In the ad Obama says while looking directly at the camera:

Those ads taking my words about small business out of context? They're flat out wrong, ...Of course Americans build their own businesses.

— President Barack Obama[59]

While speaking at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon on the 24th of July,[61] Obama rebuked the Romney Campaign by saying:

And Mr. Romney disagrees with this, and he is entitled to his opinion. But the approach that he is talking about is not going to help small businesses and it's not going to create more markets for large businesses. He is wrong. We did not build this country on our own. We built it together. And if Mr. Romney doesn't understand that, then he doesn't understand what it takes to grow this economy in the 21st century for everybody.

— President Obama[62]

Debra Krause-McDonnell, who owns a business used in the Obama ad, requested that footage of her store be removed from the ad; its TV run ended, but the footage of her store in the ad can still be viewed on Youtube.[63] At a campaign event in Iowa, a caterer of the event wore a Romney campaign "Built by US" shirt, later saying "No one from the government was there when we were sweating it, when we were building this business."[64][65] Due to the speech at Roanoke, a small-business bakery in Virginia declined Vice President Biden's request to make a campaign stop there.[66]

References

  1. ^ Joe Dashiell (31 July 2012). "Romney bus rolls through western Virginia, continues criticism of President's Roanoke speech". WDBJ. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. ^ Todd Domke (26 July 2012). "Putting 'Context' In Context: Obama's 'You Didn't Build That' Speech". WBUR. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "President Obama Campaign Rally in Roanoke". Road to the White House. C-SPAN. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  4. ^ "White House Schedule - July 13, 2012". Briefing Room. White House. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  5. ^ Eric Zorn (20 July 2012). "Let me say this about 'that': Parsing the president's quote about business". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Obama claims Romney 'twisted' his words on 'you didn't build that'". Fox News. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d Kathleen Hennessey (18 July 2012). "Republicans pouncing on Obama's 'you didn't build that' remark". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  8. ^ a b c "Fact check: What President Obama actually said about small businesses". Truth team. Obama for America. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Romney hammers 'you didn't build that' in new web ad". Fox News. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  10. ^ a b Jennifer Ruben (24 July 2012). "Obama is losing his message like nobody's business". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  11. ^ a b Andrew Cline (10 August 2012). "What 'You Didn't Build That' Really Means—and Why Romney Can't Explain It". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  12. ^ a b Eugene Kiely (24 July 2012). "'You Didn't Build That,' Uncut and Unedited". The FactCheck Wire. Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Putting Mitt Romney's attacks on 'You didn't build that' to the Truth-O-Meter". Politifact. Tampa Bay Times. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  14. ^ Elliott, Philip (24 July 2012). "SPIN METER: Obama's 'You didn't build that' echoes". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Obama campaign in full swing in Virginia". San Francisco Chronicle. 13 July 212. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia". Office of the Press Secretary. White House. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  17. ^ a b Aaron Blake (18 July 2012). "Obama's 'You didn't build that' problem". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  18. ^ David Weigel (16 July 2012). "Memewatch: Did Obama Say That Successful People Didn't Earn What They Have?". Slate. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  19. ^ "Obama to business owners: 'You didn't build that'". Fox News. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  20. ^ Netohlic (1 August 2012). "You Didn't Build That: Part of a series on Barack Obama". Know Your Meme ®. Cheezburger, Inc. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  21. ^ Juli Weiner (18 July 2012). "The Rise of Romney's "You Didn't Build That" Meme". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  22. ^ "'You Didn't Build That'". Wall Street Journal. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  23. ^ James Taranto (18 July 2012). "You Didn't Sweat, He Did". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  24. ^ Kimberley A. Strassel (26 July 2012). "Four Little Words: Why the Obama campaign is suddenly so worried". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  25. ^ Glenn Kessler (13 August 2012). "What did Obama mean when he said, 'you didn't build that'?—Gaffe Check Video". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  26. ^ Clive Crook (22 July 2012). "There's No Such Thing as Building a Business". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  27. ^ Jonah Goldberg (20 July 2012). "Co-sponsoring Your Success". National Review Online. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  28. ^ Guy Benson (19 August 2012). "No, Conservatives Aren't Taking 'You Didn't Build That' Out of Context". Townhall.com. Salem Communications. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  29. ^ "An Incomprehensible Defense of Obama's "You Didn't Build That" Philosophy". RushLimbaugh.com. Premiere Radio Networks. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012. Right. Roads and bridges. The fact is, they did build the roads and bridges. It was their taxes who built the roads and bridges.
  30. ^ "The Most Telling Moment of Obama's Presidency: "You Didn't Build That"". RushLimbaugh.com. Premiere Radio Networks. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012. This roads-and-bridges stuff is just liberal claptrap. What he's doing, what he's setting the stage for is trying to socialize profit so that he can claim it. What he wants people to conclude is that profit was not possible, is not possible, without government first making it possible. And, therefore, government owns it. It's government's profit. He wants to socialize the profit, and that's then the vehicle for going after everybody's money via higher taxes, a wealth tax, or whatever technique that he tries.
  31. ^ Mark Levin (2012). Romney Goes On Offense, Mark Levin Reacts. New York: Fox News. Event occurs at 1:30. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  32. ^ Josh Barro (30 July 2012). "Why 'You Didn't Build That' Resonates". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  33. ^ Domenico Montanaro (23 July 2012). "Romney to Olympians: 'You didn't get here solely on your own'". NBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  34. ^ Michael Smerconish (30 July 2012). "'You Didn't Build That!' in Context". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  35. ^ Nelson Davis (26 July 2012). "We Did Build That". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  36. ^ Alan Colmes (27 August 2012). "I Didn't Write This". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  37. ^ Anthony Gregory (24 July 2012). "Then, Who DID Build It, Mr. President?". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  38. ^ Jonathan Chait (27 July 2012). "The Real Reason 'You Didn't Build That' Works". New York Magazine. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  39. ^ Charles Kenny (22 July 2012). "Sorry, Mitt: Businesses Aren't Built on Their Own". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  40. ^ Andy Newbold (17 August 2012). "Fox Hypes Romney Campaign Attack On Obama Based On Deceptively Edited Comments". Blog. Media Matters for America. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  41. ^ Justin Berrier (25 July 2012). "Fox Claims To Offer "Context" For Obama Comments -- Then Airs Another Deceptively Edited Clip". Blog. Media Matters for America. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  42. ^ Remington Shepard (16 July 2012). "Fox & Friends Deceptively Edits Obama's Comments On Small Business". Blog. Media Matters for America. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  43. ^ Mike Burns; Marcus Feldman (27 July 2012). "Local News Outlets Help Push Bogus "Build That" Attack Against Obama". Research. Media Matters for America. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  44. ^ "Romney apparently didn't build bogus attack on Obama". MSNBC. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012. in the annals of controversy political statements, this should not be a particularly controversial one. it's the idea that human beings rely on each other as well as themselves. that they rely on the societies as well in order to succeed.
  45. ^ "WATCH: Jon Stewart Nails Mitt Romney For Basing His Entire Campaign On Obama's Out-Of-Context Quote". Business Insider. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  46. ^ Serena Dai (26 July 2012). "Jon Stewart Chips Away at 'You Didn't Build That'". The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  47. ^ Christian Toto (26 July 2012). "Stewart Rushes To Obama's Defense Over 'You Didn't Build That' Meme". Breitbart.com. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  48. ^ Carol Hartsell (26 July 2012). "Jon Stewart Slams You-Didn't-Build-That-Gate In Romney, Fox News' Faces (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  49. ^ a b Meredith Blake (26 July 2012). "Late Night: Jon Stewart rips Romney, Fox on Obama 'misrepresentation'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  50. ^ "Colbert's One-Man Show Proves Obama Wrong: Host Does 'The Word' By Himself (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  51. ^ Debra Pangestu (26 July 2012). "Colbert Jabs Romney for Defending Obama's Business Sentiments". WMAQ-TV. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  52. ^ Jay Leno (2012). Monologue, Part 1 (7/19/12). NBC. Event occurs at 1:04. Retrieved 17 August 2012. Jobless claims rose again by 35,000 last week. Not good. But it does show that if you're unsuccessful in this country, you didn't do it on your own. You had help. Thank you, President Obama. Thank you. You're not alone, you didn't do it alone.
  53. ^ Gary Varvel; Michael Ramirez; Steve Kelley (11 August 2012). "Obama defines success". Political cartoonists index. Cagle Cartoons, Inc. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  54. ^ Sushannah Walshe (25 July 2012). "Romney Camp Continues 'You Didn't Build That' Attacks with Swing State Events". ABC News. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  55. ^ van Sickler, Michael (25 July 2012). "Two local businessowners tapped by Romney to speak out on Obama have bios that contradict message". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  56. ^ "Romney Doubles Down On "You Didn't Build That" With New Website". Talk Radio News Service. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  57. ^ "Built By US". Romney for President, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  58. ^ Kevin Bohn; Gregory Wallace (28 July 2012). "Romney's son plugs 'Built By Us' merchandise jabbing at Obama remark". CNN. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  59. ^ a b Philip Elliot (29 July 2012). "SPIN METER: Obama's 'You didn't build that' echoes". North County Times. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  60. ^ Barack Obama (2012). "Always" - Obama for America TV Ad (360p). BarackObamadotcom. Event occurs at 0:31. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  61. ^ David Sorasohn (28 July 2012). "Barack Obama in Portland campaigns right down the middle". The Oregonian. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  62. ^ "Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event". Office of the Press Secretary. White House. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  63. ^ Byron Tau (9 August 2012). "Deli owner wants store removed from Obama ad". Politico. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  64. ^ Mary Bruce (15 August 2012). "Caterer at Obama Iowa Event Wears Pro-Romney Shirt". ABC News. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  65. ^ Amy Gardner (15 August 2012). "Iowa deli co-owner caters for Obama visit, but his T-shirt tells another story". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  66. ^ Laura Matthews (16 August 2012). "Virginia Business Owner Shuns Biden Over Obama's 'You Didn't Build That' Remark". International Business Times. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
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