republicans planned for a democratic president to say if, by chance, one of them was lucky enough to be elected. that plan, the reagan plan, the starve the beast planç control our governing dialogue today. this is not an accidental legacy of reagan s, this was his plan. this didn t happen because george w. bush lost his way and forgot to pay for things, it was because george w. bush faithfully executed the plan. the america i know is generous and compassionate, it s a land of opportunity and optimism. yes, we take responsibility for ourselves, but we also take responsibility for each other. for the country we want and the future that we share. we re a nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought life to communities
they think we are a weaker country because we give money to people who don t work. we call it unemployment insurance. they call it a government handout and wonder why the unemployed don t just start their own businesses. there but for the grace of god go i, we say to ourselves. and so we contribute to programs like medicare and social security. there but for the grace of god go i. i learned that phrase as a child, but i ve never before heard it as the rational for medicare and social security. i imagine medicare and social security are logical extensions of the concept enunciated in that phrase. there but for the grace of god go i. but we live in a country where probably half of the people who use that phrase mean, god am i lucky that didn t happen to me? and most of thoseç people belie it didn t happen to them because they made smarter choices than the unemployed or they worked harder than the people who don t