The economy sucks, it's hot, we're overworked and crabby, and a lot of us are once again stuck with a staycation this summer (a recent Manta survey finds that nearly half of small business owners responded that they don't have time for a vacation this year).

So when President Obama makes a remark like, “If you've got a business — you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen,” chances are some people are gonna get a little testy.

Many small business owners are still fuming about the President's comments, which were delivered a full week ago in a campaign speech in Roanoke, Va.

Here's the full paragraph:

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. 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. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

I asked agents in several LinkedIn groups what they thought about the quote and boy, did I get a virtual earful. From the polite (“I would have to disagree”) to the vituperative (Obama is “an errand boy for the 'progressive' Alinski-ist agenda”), the comments flew hot and heavy.

Before it was over (and conversations are still simmering), people were referencing John Maynard Keynes, Ayn Rand, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and everyone in between. (I was waiting for quote from L. Ron Hubbard in light of the big TomKat breakup, but maybe people are worried about being added to the Scientology “enemies list.” (JOKE! Please don't hurt me!)

A sampling of the discourse:

Businesses do not succeed because of government, they succeed in spite of government.
Odumba has never had to work a day in his life…He panders to any person or group he can just to get a vote. He was a terrible senator in Illinois (yes, I was living there) and he is even a worse President.
Sorry, that is not what the President said. Just twisting a few words from his speech…He just underlined the fact that there is a contribution from government for the success of most private ventures.
If customers do not support your business or product, will it be successful? So yes, people help in your success! If I sell tires and no one buys any, how successful would my business be?
NASA advancement is in most corners of our house, and military innovation made the Internet possible. We cannot slash the federal government to the bone and expect to remain a top country.
Who was he preaching to? It's a technically correct, irrelevant statement.
Knowing how the man thinks as respects to obviously wanting bigger government and tax upon tax and abuse of executive power and downright sneakiness and outright lies…what would anyone with half a brain negatively think about any of his statements? I take that back. The ones with half a brain or less would keep him in office.
I want the White House number that sends prospective clients to me that are guaranteed to purchase. And, even IF it was taken out of context by FOX news, they learned it from the pros: ABC, CBS, NBC & MSNBC.
It's just more of the same victimization scam and closeted class warfare this guy is known for. Only this time, it's middle-class business guys who are the ogre, and the political elites like Obama are the victims, because the small business owners are pushing back against an Obama tax increase targeted directly at them.
He said nothing to the context that Romney claims. Who would you rely upon to pay people to teach your children, or pave your streets, maintain your infrastructure, or save your things from fire? Your neighbor? Do you have any idea how much the technology you use to do your daily things costs? Would you prefer we go back to the 1300s like our extremist Muslim brothers?
I think that is a spit in the face to anyone who has put their blood, sweat, and tears into their business! So someone else did all the prospecting, spent money on the marketing, missed important family engagements all to hopefully bring the American dream to fruition!? Cannot even believe it was said with a straight face!
We succeed because someone else gave us an opportunity or we were at the right place at the right time to exploit a new opportunity.

Whether or not Obama was being disingenuous or the quote was taken out of context is by this time beside the point. To me, the real issue is the level of polarization that's evident among voters, even in comments by a group of people sharing the challenges of the same industry. When nobody will budge from their opinions, we end up falling at each other's throats like a scene from “True Blood.” In Congress, it's the kind of thing that causes gridlock.

A big part of my job – the part I really love – is looking for, and finding, examples of creative thinkers who single-handedly launch a business, frequently against big odds, and succeed.

But any entrepreneur, no matter how independent, will eventually, because of his success, need to rely on others to grow the business – whether it's hiring employees, looking for a small business loan to do a merger, or leasing a bigger space. Why not give credit where credit is due?

Here is my favorite comment, one that goes to the very heart of why America still beckons the creative class:

My parents came here from Puerto Rico. They did not have a dime but they did have a dream. They went to every bank in NYC which rejected them. If it was not for a “government” guaranteed small business loan (which they paid in full within 3 years), they would not had been able to build the million- dollar business they did. They had the right formula, but without assistance, people like them would have never had the chance. For 30 years my father slept less than 3 hours a night in order to build his business and he is the first to say, yes, he is self made, but he had a community and a government that gave him the ability to produce, pay lots and lots and lots of taxes and employ 60 people. He is retired now and is often sad about how people like him are portrayed today!

This is the story our leaders should have foremost in their minds, a story they should help make happen again and again. Corporations may wield the big PAC money, but start-ups and middle-sized businesses (like you and your customers) account for 34 percent of all U.S. job creation, according to a 2011 study from the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and GE Capital.

If we can agree on anything, it should be to hold our leaders accountable to helping build that dream in any way they can.

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