| − | On July 13, 2012, at a campaign event in [[Virginia]], Obama gave a speech that immediately stirred up controversy. Speaking about the Government's role in the success of private business, he said:<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia</ref> | + | On July 13, 2012, [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] told an audience at a fire station in Roanoke Virginia, "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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia|title=Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia|date=July 13, 2012|accessdate=August 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/obamas-logic-a-system-that-allows-us-to-thrive-can-disallow-success/|title=Obama’s logic: a system that ‘allows’ us to thrive can disallow success|author=Steve Stanek|accessdate=August 25, 2012|date=July 25, 2012}}</ref> The [[Romney]] campaign, took that one sentence ("If you’ve got a business - you didn’t build that") and claimed that he was referring to building business rather than roads, bridges or the internet. |
| − | It is clear that when Obama said "you didn't build that," he is referring to the business itself, claiming that hard working American's need the government. The [[Romney]] campaign, took that one sentence ("If you’ve got a business - you didn’t build that") and showed America what he's really about. Obama could have been more clear about what he was referring to, which is unusual because he is often praised for his [[Political_positions_of_Barack_Obama#Public_speaking|public speeches]]. This could be a case of Obama speaking off-script, providing further evidence for his reliance on [[teleprompter]]s.
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