President Obama, speaking in Pittsburgh, today:

But I also understand that throughout our nation’s history, we have balanced the threat of overreaching government with the dangers of unfettered markets. We’ve provided a basic safety net — because any one of us might experience hardship at some time in our lives, and may need some help getting back on our feet. And we have recognized that there have been times when only government has been able to do what individuals couldn’t do and corporations wouldn’t do.

Not on that list: Fix a leaking drill hole in the Gulf of Mexico.

That’s how we have railroads and highways; public schools and police forces. That’s how we’ve made possible scientific research that’s led to medical breakthroughs like the vaccine for hepatitis B and technological wonders like GPS. That’s how we have Social Security, a minimum wage, and laws to protect the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. That’s how we have rules to ensure that mines are safe and that oil companies pay for the spills they cause.

Except that recent months have shown big government to be asleep at the switch on those fronts. The other side of the aisle keeps arguing that we need bigger and more expensive government, but it never seems to be all that much better; we find federal employees accepting gifts from those they regulate and watching pornography at work, taking all of five minutes to approve last-minute equipment design changes, going whitewater rafting with their wives as part of “official business,” EPA administrators making plans to attend Democratic fundraisers, etc.

Citing the oil spill while making the case for a more expansive and more powerful government doesn’t require the audacity of hope, just audacity.