I made the argument on my Facebook page that "You didn't build that" could be among the most unfortunate 4 words ever spoken by a US president.
One of my friends that enjoined the Facebook food-fight that ensued, argued that the quote was taken out of context. I looked into it and found a fact check article at the Washington Post.
The Post argues that Obama was referring to the roads and infrastructure when he said "you didn't build that." This, I believe, is where the out of context argument is coming from. Given his often unintelligible speech pathology when speaking extemporaneously, I might agree ... but the larger argument he was making follows the "It takes a Village" concept and that bolsters the suggestion that he was saying you didn't do it alone - "you had help." It's a chicken and egg argument - and most business owners argue that the core of the effort in starting their business is a product of their own industry - not that of a socialist collectivism. The product of their industry is taxed and that money goes back to the "village" to build those roads and other infrastructure. The infrastructure and other government help does not come first. The road was not first built by government in the hope that someone would someday invent an automobile to ride upon it.
Even if the president did misspeak, I believe what he intended to say was, indeed, exactly how people have understood it. Regardless, those 4 unfortunate words have proven to be a gift-wrapped campaign theme for his opponents.
