Obama to hit back against "you didn't build that" attack

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Updated at 10:20 a.m. ET

(CBS News) On the campaign trail in Florida today, President Obama will respond for the first time to Mitt Romney's aggressive attacks suggesting the president doesn't support small businesses.

Romney this week has hammered Mr. Obama for remarks he made last Friday in Virginia, where he argued that successful businesses rely on public resources funded by the government.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help," Mr. Obama said. "There was a great teacher somewhere in your life... Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen... The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together."

Charging that Mr. Obama doesn't support free enterprise, Romney and Republicans have focused this snippet of his remarks: "If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." Romney said Tuesday that the president's comments were "insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator in America."

Today, the president is expected to offer a "counterpunch," a senior administration official tells CBS News.

"As he has many times before, the president will talk about his longtime belief in the drive and ingenuity of the American worker and his ongoing commitment to ensuring entrepreneurs and small businesses have the tools they need to succeed," the official said. "He will also highlight how Mitt Romney's economic agenda would be devastating for small businesses."

On Thursday, Mr. Obama's re-election team released a web video highlighting the fact that Romney himself has said before that successful individuals rely on the help of their community.

However, that didn't stop the Romney campaign from releasing its latest television ad on Friday (watch at left) that focuses on Mr. Obama's remarks. "Through hard work and a little bit of luck we built this business," a small businessman says in the new ad. "Why are you demonizing us for it?"

UPDATE: The president's campaign announced later that it has canceled one of Mr. Obama's two Florida campaign events in the wake of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado. The president will address the shooting at his stop in Ft. Myers but will then go back to the White House rather than stopping in Winter Park, Florida.

[hillzhavays]

There once was loonie named Ben
as mad as a little wet hen
that he had no clue
was patently true
but he kept spouting again and again.

[hillzhavays]

by USAB4Zionism July 20, 2012 3:33 PM EDT
Even millionaires who are out of work don't have to spend down their savings as fast as they might. They can collect unemployment on the shoulders of taxpayers. The IRS reports that 2,362 millionaires collected $20,799,000 in jobless benefits in 2009.
_____________________________________

So you're saying they collected $733 a month. So what?

If their adjusted gross income was a million the year before, and they paid the average tax rate for the top 1% (which they are), then they paid $264,000, just in that prior year, which represents 23 TIMES what they received in unemployment. And that was just in that one year. Over a 10 year period, they would have contributed almost 300 TIMES what they received in unemployment. Thousands more times than your worthless piddly contribution, that's for sure. Quit griping.

I hope the your burning wealth envy is keeping you nice and warm at nite.

[hillzhavays]

Once again, Ben is confronted with an irrefutable fact he doesn't like LOL - learn math benji

[realist2O1O]

Those who are adverse or disinclined to work have a right to be taken care of.

[olyboy]

I understand that some of us are in this together, but not all of us. The fourth generation welfare mother of five, by five different fathers, has never paid a dime toward the highways, schools, etc. that benefited me in making my living. Likewise, the almost 50% of our citizens who don't pay income taxes haven't really contributed their fair share since they are net consumers of their fellow taxpayers tax dollars (if the go to public school or drive on public roads, etc.). I don't argue with the statement that we didn't do it alone. What troubles me is that the president groups in those who contribute nothing as having the same value to our society. That is simply and unfortunately not true. We have failed to demand, as our forefathers did, that everyone pull their weight. No true concept of fairness can suggest that the 10% who pay the vast majority of the cost of government aren't paying their fair share -- no matter what Patti Murray and the rest of the dems claim.

[TimeToEvolve]

So RobMe built all those Staples with his own two hands.

RobMe built the roads that go to the stores. He installed the traffic lights and trained and hired the police and firefighters who respond to the crimes at his stores.

RobMe personally educated the workers who were hired.

Yeah RobMe did it all by himself.

[hillzhavays]

Traffic lights didn't make Staples successful you idiot.

[JWinATL]

Not personally - he invested the money to buy Staples and paid the taxes that provided those services you mention (probably UNLIKE you).

[fiddlestickawshucks]

I think Obama has finally lost it.!

It's time for him to reveal, admitting he was not wealthy in his earlier years, who paid for his education at two top Universities.

It's time to reveal his college transcripts, why he has the Social Security number of a dead man from Connecticut, why he has 9 passports; each one declaring him a citizen of that country, why he spent millions trying to keep all this hidden.

People who live in glass houses; shouldn't throw stones.!

As far as Romney's tax returns are concerned; there is no law or regulation stating how many years of tax returns must be submitted.

Yet, the Democrooks keep harping that Romney must have something to hide.

I am not a fan of Romney, and I am definitely not a fan of Obama or the corrupt bought-and-paid-for Congress.

Obama probably wishes he could hide all of his failures for the past 3 1/2 years'

He took the initiative when he helped to build Acorn; he had plenty help, but it failed anyway.

In the past few weeks of campaigning; Obama sounds like a man overboard hollering for more water.

I will be so glad when November is over, and all this BS will disappear; at least for one or two days.

[hillzhavays]

"his ongoing commitment to ensuring entrepreneurs and small businesses have the tools they need to succeed"

I see, soooooo how long has he been in office? And how many tools have small businesses received under his administration?

[hillzhavays]

LOL, that's hilarious - you evidently can't read or you don't know what small business means.

But it goes a long way toward explaining where you get all the drivel you continually regurgitate all over everything. Laughable

[hillzhavays]

ON your so-called list: Supported the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).

I mean, if this is something you call an achievement, you need to either raise your standards or look up achievement in the dictionary. How you morons got this guy elected, I will never know. Fortunately, that's something we can correct.

[luadda22]

Worse than "you didn't built that" is "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".

First, I thought it was the vision of J. C. R. Licklider.

Second, And the government created the internet so companies could make money??? WOW!!! Then why did the MIT 1982 handbook of rules state "It is considered illegal to use the ARPANet for anything which is not in direct support of Government business" and "Sending electronic mail over the ARPANet for commercial profit or political purposes is both anti-social and illegal".

Does that sound like the government did it so "companies could make money"??? Lets all bow down and give thanks to our great government and its Ruler.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

"The origins of the Internet reach back to research of the 1960s, commissioned by the Unites States Government in collaboration with private commercial interests to build robust, fault-tolerant, and distributed computer networks. The funding of a new U.S. backbone by the National Science Foundation in the 1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial backbones, led to worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies, and the merger of many networks. The commercialization of what was by the 1990s an international network resulted in its popularization and incorporation into virtually every aspect of modern human life. As of 2011, more than 2.2 billion people - nearly a third of Earth's population — use the services of the Internet"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

[hillzhavays]

I always know when someone has pointed out an irrefutable fact that ben doesn't like.

[Socialistnation]

All, 100% of the Governments revenue comes from Business. You have a job and get paid and you pay your taxes, it comes from the business. Business also pays taxes. You have a Government job, you get paid by the taxes paid to the Government from people that work in the private sector for a business.

The private sector in this country pays for everything....

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

You may want to tell the military guys and gals along with all the federal employees that they don't need to pay any more taxes.

[Socialistnation]

"by WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING July 20, 2012 12:36 PM EDT
You may want to tell the military guys and gals along with all the federal employees that they don't need to pay any more taxes."


Their taxes are paid for by wages that are paid for by the private sector or Business.

[Socialistnation]

Well I guess it took them a few days to figure out how to spin this one. They must be losing their touch..

Of course they had CBS in tow all the time as they hardly reported the offensive comments from Obama at all...