[ktizo]

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.

I just looked up the speech as well. The 'that' would seem to be referring to the 'somebody' who built infrastructure. You could read it the other way I suppose, but only if you thought it was a separate statement meant to stand apart from the rest of the paragraph that is enclosing it, which wouldn't make much sense.

[javert]

As I said, I looked up the speech (again - just to make sure - as I had already looked it up before), and taken in full context, I think me means that if you have a business, you didn't build that business.

His actual, broader point is that you can't take credit for building a business or claim to own it or deserve its profits, because you built upon a foundation of capital, infrastructure, and knowledge that was there before you.

This is a common viewpoint on the egalitarian Left, where Obama has his roots, and which he clearly still represents.

To interpret his comment any other way than I did, is to ignore the broader ideological context.

But even not ignoring that ideological context, it's a huge stretch to claim that he meant "those" when he said "that," or to claim that he meant something else, other than what he said.

Lots of people in the media have been outright dishonest about this (John Stewart comes to mind - he had a pretty ridiculous segment on this).

[ktizo]

To interpret his comment any other way than I did, is to ignore the broader ideological context.

Is more to ignore the rest of the speech. He goes on to say - "The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together." - which doesn't sound as though he is claiming that you can't take credit for building a business, just that you can't take all the credit.

Now, I am no fan of Obama (Or roughly 90% of politicians, for that matter), but to try and make out that he was claiming that no-one can take credit for their business, when he clearly states that success comes from individual initiative, is disingenuous at best.

[javert]

doesn't sound as though he is claiming that you can't take credit for building a business, just that you can't take all the credit.

Yes, he's saying you can't take all the credit, which means that you can't "take credit" for it.

Taking credit has an implied "all the", as in, "take [all the] credit."

This distinction actually matters. Obama is taking something absolute -- This is my business, these are my profits -- and turning it into something vague. That vagueness leaves plenty of room for all kinds of government controls and taxes.

In fact, contra Obama, if you built a business, it is rightly your business, along with all of the profits (and all of the credit).

[czr80]

> Taking credit has an implied "all the", as in, "take [all the] credit."

I'm sorry, but this is complete nonsense.

[flyinRyan]

>Yes, he's saying you can't take all the credit,

Which is right. You can't take all the credit. You can take most though.

[ktizo]

I take it you are not a fan of John Donne then.