Elizabeth Warren said it better than Barack Obama. And the president’s presentation wasn’t helped when supporters of Mitt Romney edited his words. Sadly, lost in a squabble over “you didn’t build that” was the opportunity for a more serious conversation about social contracts.

Last August, while contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate against Scott Brown, Warren offered a fiery defense of liberal economic theory at an event in Andover, Mass. Two minutes worth of what she said became a YouTube sensation that has now been viewed nearly 1 million times. That her remarks appeared extemporaneous and from the heart made the clip all the more watchable.