In 2002 Romney Sounded Like Obama (And Made a Lot of Sense)

NBC News
Alexander Abad-Santos 1,183 Views Jul 23, 2012

Apparently the idea of a community helping an individual to succeed made a lot of sense to Mitt Romney back in 2002, at the Olympics in Salt Lake City to be exact, but then again he wasn't running for president at the time. "You Olympians, however, know you didn't get here solely on your own power," Romney said at the time in a video unearthed by NBC News. He added: "For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them." That's common sense right? And Romney's comments aren't unlike the point Obama was making a couple of weeks ago when the president told business owners that: "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." But since this is 2012, not 2002, and an election year, Romney is intent on running with the "you didn't build that" sound bite and painting Obama as an anti-business, anti-Steve Jobs, type of guy. Romney even told ABC News, "I don't think the president understands what makes this country great."

 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Alexander Abad-Santos

Jon Stewart Looks at Romney and Doesn't See Much

More Than Half of Obama's TV Spending Since April Has Been on Negative Ads

Gingrich and Romney Can't Get This Race Started

 

Backpacks, Human Shields, Above and Beyond: The Oklahoma Teacher Heroes

Osama's Bin Laden's Death Photos Will Be Kept Secret for Your Own Good

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App