--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People always - I think were surprised…" description: "\"People always - I think were surprised about me connecting with folks in small town Iowa. And the reason I did was - first of all, I had the benefit th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/barack-obama-17_benefits_people-always-i-think-were-surprised-abo_1041558.jpg" --- # People always - I think were surprised about me connecting… ![“People always - I think were surprised about me connecting with folks in small town Iowa. And the reason I did was - first of all, I had the benefit that at the time nobody expected me to win. And so I wasn't viewed through this prism of Fox News and conservative media making me scary. At the…” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/barack-obama-17_benefits_people-always-i-think-were-surprised-abo_1041558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/barack-obama-17_benefits_people-always-i-think-were-surprised-abo_1041558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/barack-obama-17_benefits_people-always-i-think-were-surprised-abo_1041558.jpg) > “People always - I think were surprised about me connecting with folks in small town Iowa. And the reason I did was - first of all, I had the benefit that at the time nobody expected me to win. And so I wasn't viewed through this prism of Fox News and conservative media making me scary. At the time, I didn't think seem scary, other than just having a funny name. I seemed young.” [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that low expectations allowed him to connect with ordinary people without preconceived bias. **In simple terms:** People underestimated him, which helped his outreach. Key Takeaway Leverage humility to build trust. Themes humility connection perception politics Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational political When to use this quote - small town meetings - grassroots campaigning - media interviews Key Concepts media bias expectations authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does anonymity affect authenticity? - Can low expectations be a strategic advantage? A Different Perspective If expectations are high, scrutiny may increase. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Connecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connecting/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Fox news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fox-news/) [Foxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foxes/) [Funny name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-name/) [Iowa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iowa/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [News Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news-conservative-1236106/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisms/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Scary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scary/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Small town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-town/) [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) [Surprised Connecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised-connecting-2437502/) [Think Scary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-scary-799054/) [Think Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-surprised-759496/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they're going to try to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-really-thinks-that-bush-or-mccain-have-a-real-answer-for-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“If Facebook becomes my primary source of news, with the ability to filter what I see, then the civic square will no longer exist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/if-facebook-becomes-my-primary-source-of-news-with-the-ability-to/) [Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/) > [We're bombarded with liberal propaganda 24/7, from the early morning shows, Hollywood movies, documentaries and sitcoms, all major newspapers, fashion magazines, the sports pages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/we-re-bombarded-with-liberal-propaganda-24-7-from-the-early-morning/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Because Fox News is allegedly biased in favor of conservatives, critics whine like children whose lunch money got snatched. 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