I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of [Barack Obama] that have caused such controversy [among libertarians who are considering supporting him]. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of [the free market]? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered [anti-market]? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from [politicians you have voted for] with which you strongly disagreed.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a [candidate's] effort to speak out against perceived [economic] injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of [capitalism] - a view that sees [government as the solution to economic problems], and that elevates what is wrong with [capitalism] above all that we know is right with [capitalism]; a view that sees the [troubles on Wall Street] as rooted primarily in the actions of [corporations], instead of emanating from the perverse [policies of the federal reserve].
As such, [Obama's] comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; [populism-]charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.
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