May 3, 2010 8:37AM # Obama vs. Common Sense By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE President Obama delivered a [commencement speech](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-university-michigan-spring-commencement) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday. He called on all Americans “to maintain a basic level of civility in our public debate.” Who could argue? Yet the president apparently believes that civility means protecting his policies from [valid criticism](https://www.cato.org/pubs/bp/bp108.pdf). He instructed graduates that “the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship.” Right again. But the civics lesson rings hollow coming from a president who falsely claimed there was “[no disagreement](https://www.cato.org/special/stimulus09/cato_stimulus.pdf)” over his massive “stimulus” bill, and that opponents of his health care takeover [offered no proposals of their own](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/29/tom-price/price--obama-health-care-no-ideas/). He explained, “what we should be asking is not whether we need ‘big government’ or a ‘small government,’ but how we can create a smarter and better government.” Which is pretty much what every politician says when he wants big government and [voters want small government](https://www.cato.org/2009/06/23/americans-want-smaller-government/). Most troubling was this: “What troubles me is when I hear people say that all of government is inherently bad.” That remark reminded me of this passage from Thomas Paine’s *[Common Sense](http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense2.htm)*: “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.” And it has me thinking that our president, a former constitutional law professor, who just received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Michigan, really doesn’t get the American idea of government. At all. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).