Last Wednesday at Lorain County Community College President Obama said: "I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Michelle wasn’t. But somebody gave us a chance — just like these folks up here are looking for a chance."

What Fox News said he said: "Unlike some people, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth."

Talking Points Memo first reported this Sunday afternoon.



Fox's source on this, it appears, is not the official White House transcript. Rather, the conservative blog Hot Air.

Obama, in fact, wasn't referring to Romney at all. Romney bought in, offering this:

Well, you know, the President is really taking aim at anybody he can find these days. In fact, in my case, I'm certainly not going to apologize for my dad and his success in life. He was born poor. He worked his way to become very successful despite the fact that he didn't have a college degree. And one of the things he wanted to do was provide for me and for my brother and sisters.

I'm not going to apologize for my dad's success, but I know the president likes to attack fellow Americans.

The Washington Post bought in, before eliminating the words "unlike some people" on Sunday night in response to TPM's report.

The New York Post bought in, writing an editorial about how "snotty" Obama is.

Even as Obama tries to portray it as repugnant — as he did this week with a remark that prompted the former Massachusetts governor’s response.

“Unlike some people, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth,” Obama said. That’s not just snotty — it’s woefully ignorant of the American spirit.

White House press secretary Jay Carney even addressed the topic on Thursday as it spread into the mainstream. This time, he was actually talking about Romney. "And I suppose anybody who thinks it was a reference to them might be a little oversensitive, because — unless they think that when President Obama said it three years ago it was in reference to them," Carney said.

A simple search on the official White House website yields more than a few times Obama has used the phrase in speeches. Here's the first, which had pretty much the exact same purpose as the one he used last Wednesday, nearly three years later.

None of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouths — but we got a great education. And if we combine additional resources with a commitment to reform, then I think we can deliver that for every American child.