President Obama,
2009:
None of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, but we got a great education.
President Obama,
2010:
Neither Harry or I were born with a silver spoon in our mouths. Our families were working folk. And we understand how hard it is sometimes.
President Obama,
2011:
Most of you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
President Obama,
yesterday:
Somebody gave me an education. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Michelle wasn’t. But somebody gave us a chance.
And Mitt Romney
responds:
Well, you know, the President is really taking aim at anybody he can find these days. In fact, in my case, I'm certainly not going to apologize for my dad and his success in life. He was born poor. He worked his way to become very successful despite the fact that he didn't have a college degree. And one of the things he wanted to do was provide for me and for my brother and sisters.
I'm not going to apologize for my dad's success, but I know the president likes to attack fellow Americans. He's always looking for a scapegoat, particularly those [who] have been successful like my dad, and I'm not going to rise to that. This is a time for us to solve problems. This is not a time for us to be attacking people; we should be attacking problems.
And if I'm president, I will stop the attack on fellow Americans. I'll stop the attack on people and start attacking the problems that have been looming over this country.
Yeesh, talk about somebody who needs to lighten up. President Obama was not talking about Mitt Romney, nor Mitt's dad. He was saying that one of the things that makes America great is the idea that everybody should have a fair shot at success, no matter who their parents might be, and that we as a nation need to be committed to supporting the educational opportunities that make that idea a reality. If Mitt can't even agree with that, then what can he agree with? And if he thinks that is a personal attack, then what isn't?
