At a fundraiser in San Francisco yesterday, you said, “We have lost our ambition, our imagination, and our willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Who, specifically, has lost their ambition, imagination, and willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge?” Most Americans or some Americans? The American public or the political class? Liberals or conservatives?
Upon what evidence do you base your assertion that we’ve lost our ambition and imagination? When did we begin losing these attributes? What, in your opinion, caused us to lose our ambition, imagination, and our willingness to do big things? To what extent has our “willingness to do the things that built the Golden Gate Bridge” been prevented, hindered, or frustrated by governmental impediments?
Last month you stated that America has gotten soft and has lost its competitive edge. Do you think Americans have any positive qualities that could overcome our lack of ambition, imagination, and resolve? Or are we all destined to become bitter — clinging to guns and religion and antipathy toward people who aren’t like us?