A Tale of Two Statements

As study in tone and message I have taken Romney's speech to Olympians and substituted entrepreneurs and job creators... now tell me, had Obama said the following would he have angered anyone?

“Tonight we cheer the young business owners and job creators, who only yesterday were children themselves,” Obama said. “As we watch them grow their business, we affirm that our aspirations, and those of our children and grandchildren, can become reality. We salute you job creators – both because you dreamed and because you paid the price to make your dreams real. You guys pushed yourself, drove yourself, sacrificed, studied and came back time and again, winning and losing.

“You business owners, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power,” said Obama “For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, mentors guided, communities built infrastructure in order to promote business. All business owners stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the business owners, let’s also cheer the parents, mentors, and communities. All right! [pumps fist].”

I think not.

Now do the same exercise but substitute business owners with Olympians and imagine Romney saying this:

"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 talented. There are a lot of talented 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're an Olympian, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Olympic team didn't get built on its own. Government funding created the collegiate athletics so that all the Olympians could go to the Olympics."

Would Romney have been excoriated for such a finger pointing and admonishing message to the Olympic hopefuls?

You bet he would.