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'''"You didn't build that"''' is an [[Barack Hussein Obama|Obama]] quote for the 2012 campaign that for Obama expresses the need for public infrastructure and, for his opponents, sums up his vendetta against the free enterprise system.

'''"You didn't build that"''' is an [[Barack Hussein Obama|Obama]] quote for the 2012 campaign that for Obama expresses the need for public infrastructure and, for his opponents, sums up his vendetta against the free enterprise system.

On July 13, 2012, 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." (emphasis added)<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>

On July 13, 2012, 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." (emphasis added)<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=https://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>

[[Republican]]s say it shows how the president believes in a government-driven economy that fundamentally distrusts private enterprise.<ref>http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/08/21/ryan-obamas-true-beliefs-revealed-when-he-drops-his-veil-0?intcmp=obnetwork#ixzz24c0eMKMB</ref> Mitt Romney later highlighted the quote:

[[Republican]]s say it shows how the president believes in a government-driven economy that fundamentally distrusts private enterprise.<ref>http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/08/21/ryan-obamas-true-beliefs-revealed-when-he-drops-his-veil-0?intcmp=obnetwork#ixzz24c0eMKMB</ref> Mitt Romney later highlighted the quote:

:“What [President Obama] said was not a gaffe,” Mr. Romney said. “It was not a slip of the tongue. What he said was his philosophy. He said that if you have a business, you didn’t build it, someone else did that.”<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/4/you-didnt-build-that-was-gops-spark-plug/#ixzz25dE1fY43 ‘You didn’t build that’ was GOP’s spark plug - Washington Times]</ref>

:“What [President Obama] said was not a gaffe,” Mr. Romney said. “It was not a slip of the tongue. What he said was his philosophy. He said that if you have a business, you didn’t build it, someone else did that.”<ref>[https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/4/you-didnt-build-that-was-gops-spark-plug/#ixzz25dE1fY43 ‘You didn’t build that’ was GOP’s spark plug - Washington Times]</ref>

==Critique by the Romney campaign==

==Critique by the Romney campaign==

==Response by the Obama campaign==

==Response by the Obama campaign==

The Obama campaign said the president's phrase, "You didn't build that," referred only to his point that small businesses didn't build public [[infrastructure]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/fact-check-what-president-obama-actually-said-about-small-businesses/|title=Fact check: What President Obama actually said about small businesses|date=July 17, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref> The Obama campaign also posted a clarifying video.<ref>http://thehill.com/video/campaign/239659-obama-ad-aims-to-set-romney-straight-over-you-didnt-build-that-remark</ref>

The Obama campaign said the president's phrase, "You didn't build that," referred only to his point that small businesses didn't build public [[infrastructure]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/fact-check-what-president-obama-actually-said-about-small-businesses/|title=Fact check: What President Obama actually said about small businesses|date=July 17, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref> The Obama campaign also posted a clarifying video.<ref>https://thehill.com/video/campaign/239659-obama-ad-aims-to-set-romney-straight-over-you-didnt-build-that-remark</ref>

==Other reactions==

==Other reactions==

Crossroads America posted a video called "Build" which quoted small businesspeople as reacting negatively toward Obama's quote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae9SjPEsRf0&feature=relmfu|title=American Crossroads: Build |date=July 24, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

Crossroads America posted a video called "Build" which quoted small businesspeople as reacting negatively toward Obama's quote.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae9SjPEsRf0&feature=relmfu|title=American Crossroads: Build |date=July 24, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012}}</ref>

[[Scott Brown]] posted a two and a half minute video ad showing Obama's statement and similar statements by [[Elizabeth Warren]] and contrasted them with quotations from prior presidents.<ref>http://blip.tv/play/hIUWgv7VcQA.html?p=1</ref>

[[Scott Brown]] posted a two and a half minute video ad showing Obama's statement and similar statements by [[Elizabeth Warren]] and contrasted them with quotations from prior presidents.<ref>http://blip.tv/play/hIUWgv7VcQA.html?p=1</ref>

The Obama statement and the subsequent exchange with Mitt Romney drew satire from the ''[[Colbert Report]]'', which pointed out that Romney made essentially the same statement regarding the need for education and infrastructure to promote business success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/416950/july-25-2012/mitt-romney-vs--barack-obama-on-small-business-owners|title=Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama on Small Business Owners|date=July 25, 2012}}</ref>

The Obama statement and the subsequent exchange with Mitt Romney drew satire from the ''[[Colbert Report]]'', which pointed out that Romney made essentially the same statement regarding the need for education and infrastructure to promote business success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/416950/july-25-2012/mitt-romney-vs--barack-obama-on-small-business-owners|title=Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama on Small Business Owners|date=July 25, 2012}}</ref>

Carl Gibson of the ''[[Huffington Post]]'', pointed out that the [[Republican National Convention]]'s theme of "We built that" contradicts the fact that the convention's venue was constructed with taxpayer funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/rnc-you-didnt-build-that_b_1830673.html|title=RNC: You Didn't Build That|date=August 26, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012|work=Huffington Post}}</ref>

Carl Gibson of the ''[[Huffington Post]]'', pointed out that the [[Republican National Convention]]'s theme of "We built that" contradicts the fact that the convention's venue was constructed with taxpayer funding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/rnc-you-didnt-build-that_b_1830673.html|title=RNC: You Didn't Build That|date=August 26, 2012|accessdate=August 27, 2012|work=Huffington Post}}</ref>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' says “rarely do politicians so clearly reveal their core beliefs ... the President who says he wants to be transformational may be succeeding--and subordinating to government the individual enterprise and risk-taking that unlerlies prosperity.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304388004577533300916053684.html|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> In the New York Daily News, [[S. E. Cupp]] charges that the President’s is attacking the individualism inherent in the American dream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-18/news/32734440_1_hard-work-systemic-racism-success|author=S. E. Cupp|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> Several authors points out the phrase in question comes from [[Karl Marx|Marx]]’s “Labor Theory of Value.” [[Labor]] creates the product to which nothing is contributed by management. [[Profit]], therefore, is theft. The capitalist is a parasite.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/13/obamas-labor-theory-of-value|title=Obama’s Labor Theory of Value|author=Ron Ross|newspaper=The American Spectator|date=Aug 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/karl-marx-and-our-emperor-of-envy/|title=Karl Marx and our Emperor on Envy|author=Robert Ringer|date=Aug 8 2012|newspaper=WorldNetDaily}}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]''’ author Harry Binswanger, writes “This gigantic fraud is aimed at a single goal: re-assuring life’s losers that their failures are not their fault.” Achievement is an illusion, according to Obama, and you are just as deserving as [[Steve Jobs]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/08/05/revenge-of-the-zeros-the-battle-between-ayn-rand-and-collectivism-reaches-a-climax/|title=Revenge Of The Zeros|author=Harry Binswanger|date=Aug 5, 2012|newspaper=Forbes}}</ref>

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' says “rarely do politicians so clearly reveal their core beliefs ... the President who says he wants to be transformational may be succeeding--and subordinating to government the individual enterprise and risk-taking that unlerlies prosperity.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304388004577533300916053684.html|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> In the New York Daily News, [[S. E. Cupp]] charges that the President’s is attacking the individualism inherent in the American dream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-18/news/32734440_1_hard-work-systemic-racism-success|author=S. E. Cupp|title=You Didn’t Build That|date=Jul 18, 2012}}</ref> Several authors points out the phrase in question comes from [[Karl Marx|Marx]]’s “Labor Theory of Value.” [[Labor]] creates the product to which nothing is contributed by management. [[Profit]], therefore, is theft. The capitalist is a parasite.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/13/obamas-labor-theory-of-value|title=Obama’s Labor Theory of Value|author=Ron Ross|newspaper=The American Spectator|date=Aug 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/08/karl-marx-and-our-emperor-of-envy/|title=Karl Marx and our Emperor on Envy|author=Robert Ringer|date=Aug 8 2012|newspaper=WorldNetDaily}}</ref> ''[[Forbes]]''’ author Harry Binswanger, writes “This gigantic fraud is aimed at a single goal: re-assuring life’s losers that their failures are not their fault.” Achievement is an illusion, according to Obama, and you are just as deserving as [[Steve Jobs]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/08/05/revenge-of-the-zeros-the-battle-between-ayn-rand-and-collectivism-reaches-a-climax/|title=Revenge Of The Zeros|author=Harry Binswanger|date=Aug 5, 2012|newspaper=Forbes}}</ref>