Obamateurism of the Day

It’s the American archetype — the rugged individualist. A man who can handle his own affairs, and a woman who can stand on her own. People who want to be free to ply their trade in peace, take care of their families, and stay out of their neighbors’ business. Self-reliance defined Americans for generations, starting from our initial declaration that we didn’t need a colonial power to survive as a nation, or indeed as pilgrims and entrepreneurs seeking fortunes far from the reach of aristocracy and benevolent despotism.

Apparently, Obama wants to change all that (via Doug Powers at the Boss Emeritus’ site, and Dan Riehl):

At a million-dollar San Francisco fundraiser today, President Obama warned his recession-battered supporters that if he loses the 2012 election it could herald a new, painful era of self-reliance in America.

“The one thing that we absolutely know for sure is that if we don’t work even harder than we did in 2008, then we’re going to have a government that tells the American people, ‘you are on your own,’” Obama told a crowd of 200 donors over lunch at the W Hotel.

Yeah, remember what it was like when government treated Americans like adults and stayed out of their lives?  We only grew into the most prosperous of nations, became the arsenal of democracy, and won two world wars, defeating fascism and then communism, too.  Now we have government that takes money from future generations to blow it on companies like Solyndra and pass so many ambiguous regulations that it chokes off prosperity and ends up putting government in the middle of the most intimate transactions of our lives, including the choice of food we consume.  Let’s not forget to mention that this direction of government conducts massive interventions in markets that set up distortions so bad that it destabilizes markets and entire financial sectors.

Frankly, I liked the era of self-reliance a little better.  If the last three years of record deficits and economic destruction are the other option, I’m guessing most Americans would choose to move in the self-reliant direction as well.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!