Republicans take dig at Obama with 'We Built It' convention theme

Republican organizers have announced "We Built It" as the theme for the second day of the party's national convention, hoping to capitalize on a controversial remark by President Obama about the role he feels government has in helping businesses succeed. 

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement the convention proceedings on Aug. 28 “will honor the fact that it is the drive, determination and sacrifice of America's job creators and millions of hard-working American men and women who made the United States the exceptional nation it is.”

The "We Built It" theme for next Tuesday's events at the Tampa convention is a variation on the comment Obama made last month in a speech on the relationship between government actions and private-sector success.

“If you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own," Obama said. "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. Somebody else made that happen."

Priebus also said the convention's second day will be be a reminder “that we are a nation made great not by Washington but by the men and women who summoned the inner drive, discipline and persistent effort to achieve their dreams within the free enterprise system.”

Republican organizers said the convention speakers next Tuesday will include Sher Valenzuela, a Republican small businessman running to be Delaware's lieutenant governor. The proceedings will also feature Jack Gilchrist, who runs a metal fabricating company in New Hampshire and has appeared in a Mitt Romney campaign ad denouncing Obama's remarks.

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