--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost the first thing Obama did in the…" description: "\"Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the British embassy. That suggests a major re-orderi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg" --- # Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to… ![“Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the British embassy. That suggests a major re-ordering of things. It'll be fascinating to see what happens from now on. It was a genuine break with the recent past - perhaps to re-connect with the…” quote by Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg) > “Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the British embassy. That suggests a major re-ordering of things. It'll be fascinating to see what happens from now on. It was a genuine break with the recent past - perhaps to re-connect with the past past.” [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Restoring historical symbols signals a shift in political narrative. **In simple terms:** Returning artifacts changes diplomatic tone. Key Takeaway Use symbolism to reshape narratives. Themes politics history symbolism Mood analytical thoughtful Type historical political When to use this quote - diplomatic meetings - museum displays - public speeches Key Concepts soft power national identity Questions to Reflect On - What does this gesture say about current politics? - How can symbols influence public perception? A Different Perspective Symbolic acts may be superficial without policy change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Recent past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recent-past/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [Receiving the president of the United States in your restaurant is a big thing. Obama came three times. There's a sense of pride when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boulud/receiving-the-president-of-the-united-states-in-your-restaurant-is-a/) [Daniel Boulud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boulud/) > [The truly bold thing for Obama to do would be to tell the panic-mongers and boondoggle-seekers to shove it, and to tell taxpayers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/the-truly-bold-thing-for-obama-to-do-would-be-to-tell-the-panic/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [What people forget is that the most radical thing about Obama is that he was the first black man in history to imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/what-people-forget-is-that-the-most-radical-thing-about-obama-is-that/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [During a recent interview, President Obama revealed that his favorite movie this year was 'Boyhood.' It makes sense. If there's one thing Obama can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/during-a-recent-interview-president-obama-revealed-that-his-favorite/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [The unhistorical are usually, without knowing it, enslaved to a fairly recent past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-unhistorical-are-usually-without-knowing-it-enslaved-to-a-fairly/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [ \[Our goal\] is to help revive America's traditional values: faith, family, neighborhood, work and freedom. Government has no business enforcing these values but neither… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-goal-is-to-help-revive-america-s-traditional-values-faith-family/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [A truly global economy, as opposed to the multinational economy of the recent past, will require concessions of national power ... that seemed impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wriston/a-truly-global-economy-as-opposed-to-the-multinational-economy-of-the/) [Walter Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wriston/) > [I felt like, in the recent past, people have been apologizing for Superman, a little bit, for his costume, for his origins, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zack-snyder/i-felt-like-in-the-recent-past-people-have-been-apologizing-for/) [Zack Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zack-snyder/) > [It's human nature to extrapolate the recent past into the future, but it's terrible that managements go along with this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-s-human-nature-to-extrapolate-the-recent-past-into-the-future-but/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I found my way to make my peace with the recent past by turning it into WORD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bartlett-johnson/i-found-my-way-to-make-my-peace-with-the-recent-past-by-turning-it/) [Charles Bartlett Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bartlett-johnson/) > [I valued the experience of making the recordings, and I value the performances contained therein, and I value so much of what they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-oldham/i-valued-the-experience-of-making-the-recordings-and-i-value-the/) [Will Oldham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-oldham/) > [I guess I can call myself a pragmatist with a conservative perspective. It would be hard for me to explain this, but I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-guess-i-can-call-myself-a-pragmatist-with-a-conservative/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [“the past is now barely present in my thoughts. I believe the main reason for that is our children, since life with them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/the-past-is-now-barely-present-in-my-thoughts-i-believe-the-main/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-does-not-erase-the-bitter-past-a-healed-memory-is-not-a-2/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [In the immediate postwar era, financial crises in advanced countries were rare events, and before 1970 did not happen at all. Since then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-m-taylor/in-the-immediate-postwar-era-financial-crises-in-advanced-countries/) [Alan M. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-m-taylor/) ## More by Amanda Foreman > [When I read 'The Master', I felt that I had read a true classic. It's so rare nowadays that you have that feeling: it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-read-the-master-i-felt-that-i-had-read-a-true-classic-it-s-so/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [Over the years, the writers at DC Comics softened Wonder Woman's powers in ways that would have infuriated Marston. During the 1960s, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/over-the-years-the-writers-at-dc-comics-softened-wonder-woman-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“trying his best to discourage them,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/trying-his-best-to-discourage-them/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [When I was in my twenties, I strongly identified with Jane Austen's 'Emma' - her human failings mixed with a desire to do good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-i-strongly-identified-with-jane-austen-s/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [As a working mother, wife, daughter, and daughter-in-law, I have to make constant moral choices. Every choice I make results in someone else suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/as-a-working-mother-wife-daughter-and-daughter-in-law-i-have-to-make/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of control - a legislative chastity belt designed to ensure that a wife had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a-male-tool-of-control-a/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [The creators of Wonder Woman had no interest in proving an actual link to the past. In some parts of the academic world, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/the-creators-of-wonder-woman-had-no-interest-in-proving-an-actual/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [Teach her story to future generations, and at least the moral debt owed to Jean McConville can be repaid. Jean McConville. Jean McConville. Jean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/teach-her-story-to-future-generations-and-at-least-the-moral-debt/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [Today, we are fortunate that the historical novel has reached such extraordinary heights of technical mastery. The ability of society to connect with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/today-we-are-fortunate-that-the-historical-novel-has-reached-such/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [In 1861, Bachofen published his radical thesis that the Amazons were not a myth but a fact. In his view, humanity started out under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/in-1861-bachofen-published-his-radical-thesis-that-the-amazons-were/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [It isn't enough for a book to be transporting or entertaining; it must also come from a place of knowledge and an understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/it-isn-t-enough-for-a-book-to-be-transporting-or-entertaining-it-must/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [When women do take on traditionally male subjects, certain male colleagues can seem affronted that a woman has dared to trespass on their subject.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/when-women-do-take-on-traditionally-male-subjects-certain-male/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [A small foot in China, no different from a tiny waist in Victorian England, represented the height of female refinement. For families with marriageable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/a-small-foot-in-china-no-different-from-a-tiny-waist-in-victorian/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [The photograph of the Queen sitting stiffly across the table from Glasgow resident Susan McCarron is so natural and expressive that it looks utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/the-photograph-of-the-queen-sitting-stiffly-across-the-table-from/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) > [“I feel I've done some things in life too late and others too early”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/i-feel-i-ve-done-some-things-in-life-too-late-and-others-too-early/) [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) [Explore all 69 Amanda Foreman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) ## More British quotes > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I shot for French and British Vogue. The British Vogue one featured clothes by Chloe and was shot at Highgate and the John Soane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/i-shot-for-french-and-british-vogue-the-british-vogue-one-featured/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [I always wanted to make a 'James Bond' film, and they only seemed to hire British directors, and I'd made 'Swingers' - they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-a-james-bond-film-and-they-only-seemed-to/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. The old Soviet Union turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/while-we-like-to-think-queueing-is-unique-to-british-culture-the/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The whole nuclear-arms-control and non-proliferation policy of the nuclear powers is a fraud: The Americans could not prevent the Soviets from replicating their weaponry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/the-whole-nuclear-arms-control-and-non-proliferation-policy-of-the/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) [Browse all 3,149 British quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the British embassy. That suggests a major re-ordering of things. It'll be fascinating to see what happens from now on. It was a genuine break with the recent past - perhaps to re-connect with the past past.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amanda Foreman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the-white-house-was-to-return-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "British" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the-white-house-was-to-return-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/amanda-foreman-9894_british_almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the_281293.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Almost the first thing Obama did in the White House was to return the bust of Winston Churchill to the…” — Amanda Foreman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amanda Foreman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Almost the first thing Obama did...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the-white-house-was-to-return-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-foreman/almost-the-first-thing-obama-did-in-the-white-house-was-to-return-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```