Many U.S.A. political conservatives have a philosophy that embraces the original core of the Republican Party and its first elected president.

The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities. In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere. The desirable things, which the individuals of a people cannot do, or cannot well do, for themselves, fall into two classes: those which have relation to wrongs, and those which have not. Each of these branches off into an infinite variety of subdivisions.

The first – that in relation to wrongs – embraces all crimes, misdemeanors, and non-performance of contracts. The other embraces all which, in its nature, and without wrong, requires combined action, as public roads and highways, public schools, charities, pauperism, orphanage, estates of the deceased, and the machinery of government itself.

From this it appears that if all men were just, there still would be some, though not so much, need of government...

Source: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, fragment on government The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler, vol. 2, pp. 22021 . Found on http://quotationsbook.com/quote/45475/

To a conservative - the American Liberal agenda appears to twist the above reasoning into a humorous sylogism.

“The legitimate object of government is to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, by themselves.” –Barack Obama, quoting Abraham Lincoln

“[N]ot a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make [a pencil].” –Leonard Read, “I, Pencil”

Therefore, making pencils — and, by implication, everything else — is a legitimate object of government.

Found at (however, "Tom's linked sources do connect")
http://citizentom.com/2009/02/21/a-quote-out-of-context/

Sincerely,
.guest