TAMPA — President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” remark was a revealing moment that created a potent line of attack. It was a blunt statement of Obama’s blinkered, government-centric view of the economy, and that view rubs many voters the wrong way: In a July Washington Post/ABC poll, 42 percent of independents said Obama’s views on the size and role of government are a reason to oppose him, while only 20 percent said they’re a reason to support him. Republicans are doing everything they can to exploit the opening. Today’s theme at the Republican National Convention is “We Built It.”

Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia will hit this theme hard in his speech today. Among the excerpts that have been released:

The times call for new leadership to get this great nation out of debt and back to work.

The choice is clear: the status quo of the entitlement society, or dynamic change to an
opportunity society.

We need a President who will say to a small businesswoman: congratulations, we
applaud your success, you did make that happen, you did build that!

Big government didn’t build America: You built America!

Small businesses don’t come out of Washington D.C. pre-made on flat bed trucks.

That coffee shop in Henrico; that florist in Virginia Beach….that bakery in
Radford…they were all built by entrepreneurial Americans with big dreams….not a big
spending government with a wide open wallet full of other people’s money!”

Virginia is a crucial swing state, and if Romney manages to win there, the argument that McDonnell is pressing will be an important reason why.