I have my own thoughts on President Obama’s SOTU (State Of The Union) speech last night) – it can be summed up as “Let’s see if I can fool all of the people this one time” by offering something to everyone. But if you really listened (I have not yet read the transcript) hard, he would say one thing about an issue and then a few minutes later, say the exact opposite thing on the same exact issue later on (thinking we wouldn’t pick up on it). An example was when he quoted Lincoln about the purpose of a limited Government (doing what we individuals would have a hard time doing), yet announcing even more Government expansion. While surfing, I found this quick commentary on Lincoln:
“[Barack Obama] didn’t get it right,” says Harry V. Jaffa, professor emeritus of Claremont McKenna College, senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, and author of two influential books on Lincoln.
Jaffa was referring to this quotation from President Obama.
“I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.”
Professor Jaffa noted that this quotation leaves out a great deal. The 93-year-old Jaffa recited the full statement from Lincoln’s speech, “The Nature and Objects of Government, with Special Reference to Slavery” (July 1, 1854) by memory:
“The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.”
Notice the difference? The emphasis is on the need to have done, not on government doing the action. “That distinction was missing from his quotation,” Jaffa explains. Yet Obama has repeatedly invoked this misleading Lincoln quotation on both the campaign trail and during his presidency.
My problem with Obama, and the Progressive movement he represents, is that he doesn’t believe that the ordinary Joe and Jane Sixpack can actually do anything on their own. Now, he can’t say that in this kind of a speech, or any speech, but make no mistake – this stripped down Warrenism completely explains his massive expansion of Government and its cost.
Hubris. Lies can be committed by comission, omission and (too), distortion.
(H/T: Big Government)
