--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After I had known [Barack Obama] for a…" description: "\"After I had known [Barack Obama] for a while, I remember saying to my partner, \"You know, this guy is really ambitious, I think he wants to be Mayor of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg" --- # After I had known \[Barack Obama\] for a while, I remember… ![“After I had known [Barack Obama] for a while, I remember saying to my partner, "You know, this guy is really ambitious, I think he wants to be Mayor of Chicago." That was the limit of my imagination.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg) > “After I had known \[Barack Obama\] for a while, I remember saying to my partner, "You know, this guy is really ambitious, I think he wants to be Mayor of Chicago." That was the limit of my imagination.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Initial impressions can limit imagination about someone's potential. **In simple terms:** First impressions may restrict what you think they can achieve. Key Takeaway Stay open to evolving possibilities. Themes bias imagination potential Mood curious analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - political analysis - career forecasting - personal growth Key Concepts cognitive bias future thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you challenge early assumptions about people? - What evidence would shift your view of someone's ambitions? A Different Perspective First impressions can be inaccurate and change over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Ambitious Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-think-736424/) [Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) [Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicago/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Known Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-barack-736421/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Mayors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mayors/) [My imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-imagination/) [Partners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partners/) [Really Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-ambitious-665836/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [This guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-guy/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wants Mayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-mayor-736426/) ## Related quotes > [“I have finally taught Dean that he can do anything he wants, become mayor of Denver, marry a millionaires, or become the greatest poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-have-finally-taught-dean-that-he-can-do-anything-he-wants-become-2/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“I have finally taught Dean that he can do anything he wants, become mayor of Denver, marry a millionairess, or become the greatest poet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-have-finally-taught-dean-that-he-can-do-anything-he-wants-become/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I've got ambitions. I've always been very ambitious. But I think there's something nice about not saying all of my dreams, in case they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid/i-ve-got-ambitions-i-ve-always-been-very-ambitious-but-i-think-there/) [Sigrid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid/) > [I certainly want to be ambitious for women. I'm ambitious for myself. I think women can definitely find areas in which they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-spar/i-certainly-want-to-be-ambitious-for-women-i-m-ambitious-for-myself-i/) [Debora Spar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-spar/) > [It's not fair to look at me and my husband as a couple when it comes to work. In the lab we are colleagues.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-britt-moser/it-s-not-fair-to-look-at-me-and-my-husband-as-a-couple-when-it-comes/) [May-Britt Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-britt-moser/) > [I'm ambitious. I do think you have a tendency to be less happy sometimes when you're a seeker. You can be disenchanted because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-dillon/i-m-ambitious-i-do-think-you-have-a-tendency-to-be-less-happy/) [Matt Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-dillon/) > [I've always been a bit ambitious, but I do think the Green Party is the real opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/i-ve-always-been-a-bit-ambitious-but-i-do-think-the-green-party-is/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [It's not that I lack ambition. I am ambitious in the sense that I want to be more than I am now. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wagner/it-s-not-that-i-lack-ambition-i-am-ambitious-in-the-sense-that-i-want/) [Jane Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wagner/) > [I combine aspects of fashion, comedy, sculpture, video, painting all kind of in one multimedia sort of curriculum. New York is what gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-wise/i-combine-aspects-of-fashion-comedy-sculpture-video-painting-all-kind/) [Chloe Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-wise/) > [I believe ambition is not a dirty word. It's just believing in yourself and your abilities. Imagine this: What would happen if we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reese-witherspoon/i-believe-ambition-is-not-a-dirty-word-it-s-just-believing-in/) [Reese Witherspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reese-witherspoon/) > [There are so many steps you have to go through to reach a high level, so you're kind of building your own, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-azarenka/there-are-so-many-steps-you-have-to-go-through-to-reach-a-high-level/) [Victoria Azarenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-azarenka/) > [We didn't care about salaries and having a nice car. We just cared about science and were really ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-britt-moser/we-didn-t-care-about-salaries-and-having-a-nice-car-we-just-cared/) [May-Britt Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-britt-moser/) > [I was really ambitious, so I was innovative. I was one of the first DJs to do live calls, 'cause I found this phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idris-elba/i-was-really-ambitious-so-i-was-innovative-i-was-one-of-the-first-djs/) [Idris Elba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idris-elba/) > [Being a celebrity or anything else where you're really ambitious, it's really a game to see how successful you can get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/being-a-celebrity-or-anything-else-where-you-re-really-ambitious-it-s/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Everton is a really ambitious club and that is what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-silva/everton-is-a-really-ambitious-club-and-that-is-what-i-want/) [Marco Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-silva/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) [Chris Kirubi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kirubi/) > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "After I had known [Barack Obama] for a while, I remember saying to my partner, \"You know, this guy is really ambitious, I think he wants to be Mayor of Chicago.\" That was the limit of my imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ayers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-while-i-remember-saying-to-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambitious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-while-i-remember-saying-to-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/bill-ayers-1848_ambitious_after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-whi_2468703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After I had known [Barack Obama] for a while, I remember saying to my partner, \"You know, this guy is really…” — Bill Ayers", "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": "Bill Ayers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "After I had known [Barack Obama]...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-while-i-remember-saying-to-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/after-i-had-known-barack-obama-for-a-while-i-remember-saying-to-my/#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 } } ] } ```