--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the Democratic Party, it was the…" description: "\"It was the Democratic Party, it was the Presidential election. We elected a president [Barack Obama]; we didn't elect a king. So all the speculation in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/bill-ayers-1848_barack_it-was-the-democratic-party-it-was-the-p_3139209.jpg" --- # It was the Democratic Party, it was the Presidential… ![“It was the Democratic Party, it was the Presidential election. We elected a president [Barack Obama]; we didn't elect a king. So all the speculation in the next three months - people camped out at his house, and wondering who's coming to visit, who's going to be the Secretary of State - that all…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/bill-ayers-1848_barack_it-was-the-democratic-party-it-was-the-p_3139209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/bill-ayers-1848_barack_it-was-the-democratic-party-it-was-the-p_3139209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/bill-ayers-1848_barack_it-was-the-democratic-party-it-was-the-p_3139209.jpg) > “It was the Democratic Party, it was the Presidential election. We elected a president \[Barack Obama\]; we didn't elect a king. So all the speculation in the next three months - people camped out at his house, and wondering who's coming to visit, who's going to be the Secretary of State - that all struck me as inane and stupid.” [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. He contrasts democratic election of a president with the absurdity of treating a leader like royalty, criticizing sensationalist speculation. **In simple terms:** Elections are not monarchies; media hype is foolish. Key Takeaway Question the media’s focus on spectacle. Themes politics media democracy Mood critical analytical Type political media When to use this quote - political analysis - media literacy workshops Key Concepts public scrutiny celebrity culture Questions to Reflect On - Why do we treat elected officials as celebrities? - How can we shift focus to policy? A Different Perspective Public often over‑emphasizes personal details of leaders. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-party/) [Didn Elect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/didn-elect-761413/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Inane Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inane-stupid-5586184/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Party Presidential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party-presidential-3705692/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President barack obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-barack-obama/) [Presidential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidential/) [Presidential election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidential-election/) [Secretary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secretary/) [Speculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculation/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Three months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-months/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [Voter identification tends to solidify after a new generation votes consecutively for the same party in three presidential elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hoover/voter-identification-tends-to-solidify-after-a-new-generation-votes/) [Margaret Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hoover/) > [Originally, the main purpose of the convention was to determine who the party would have as the presidential nominee and the vice-presidential nominee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/originally-the-main-purpose-of-the-convention-was-to-determine-who/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [I feel very proud, even though they didn't elect me, to be President of the Argentines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopoldo-fortunato/i-feel-very-proud-even-though-they-didn-t-elect-me-to-be-president-of/) [Leopoldo Fortunato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopoldo-fortunato/) > [Russians didn't elect Trump. Even if there was collusion, even if every hypothesis that has - that is at play in the Russia investigation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/russians-didn-t-elect-trump-even-if-there-was-collusion-even-if-every/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [ I didn't elect \[Barack\] Obama because he's a black; I voted for Obama because he was the right person at the time. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/i-didn-t-elect-barack-obama-because-he-s-a-black-i-voted-for-obama/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [I guess the President says the majority of the people didn't elect him, he doesn't have to listen to 'em anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-jones/i-guess-the-president-says-the-majority-of-the-people-didn-t-elect/) [Star Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-jones/) > [We're spending money that we don't have to solve a problem that doesn't exist at the behest of people we didn't elect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-carswell/we-re-spending-money-that-we-don-t-have-to-solve-a-problem-that-doesn/) [Douglas Carswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-carswell/) > [You didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-didn-t-elect-me-to-tell-you-what-you-wanted-to-hear-you-elected/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What I see of the US Presidential elections from down here makes me want to disengage from that particular reality and just hole up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-goldman/what-i-see-of-the-us-presidential-elections-from-down-here-makes-me/) [Francisco Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-goldman/) > [Well, one thing that has happened is they have had a presidential election in Egypt which has represented progress. Now, we were not happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wicker/well-one-thing-that-has-happened-is-they-have-had-a-presidential/) [Roger Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wicker/) > [You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-mentioned-the-navy-for-example-and-that-we-have-fewer-ships-than/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The future lies with those wise political leaders who realize that the great public is interested more in Government than in politics. The growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-future-lies-with-those-wise-political-leaders-who-realize-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Anytime somebody loses a presidential election, there are lots of explanations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murphy/anytime-somebody-loses-a-presidential-election-there-are-lots-of/) [Chris Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murphy/) > [In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/in-any-case-open-seat-presidential-elections-like-2008-just-are/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## 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 Barack quotes > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [We're in more wars today under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than under George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Yet they tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-in-more-wars-today-under-barack-obama-and-hillary-clinton-than/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I can tell you who's planning terroris attacks. The leaders of ISIL. And I can tell you where they're at. They're in Raqqa, Syria.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-can-tell-you-who-s-planning-terroris-attacks-the-leaders-of-isil/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ The president \[Barack Obama\] asked for a commitment of, I think, 100,000 jobs for veterans and military spouses over the next couple of years.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/the-president-barack-obama-asked-for-a-commitment-of-i-think-100-000/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [The big story today, Barack Obama was accused of insulting Sarah Palin when he criticized Republican policies by saying, you can put lipstick on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/the-big-story-today-barack-obama-was-accused-of-insulting-sarah-palin/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [ I think the president's \[Barack Obama\] position has been very clear on Syria. He wants more aggressive, he's put the Special Ops on the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/i-think-the-president-s-barack-obama-position-has-been-very-clear-on/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [ It cannot be an American fight. And I think what the president \[Barack Obama\] has consistently said - which I agree with - is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/it-cannot-be-an-american-fight-and-i-think-what-the-president-barack/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [It doesn't matter to me where Barack Obama goes. If he wants to go to Hawaii because it's his home state, fine! Hunky-dory. Plastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-where-barack-obama-goes-if-he-wants-to-go-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ 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 don't think that we really know a whole lot about Barack Obama at all that you would really call distinctive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-mcwhorter/i-don-t-think-that-we-really-know-a-whole-lot-about-barack-obama-at/) [John H. McWhorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-mcwhorter/) > [Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and now I am a reluctant groom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/just-like-barack-obama-my-views-on-gay-marriage-have-evolved-and-now/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I think President Barack Obama has been an extraordinarily successful president, and that this period will record that with a bunch of exclamation points.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/i-think-president-barack-obama-has-been-an-extraordinarily-successful/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) [Michael Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-atherton/) > [In public, Barack Obama's giving the simple version of his beliefs for the mass public. In private, he can discuss it at a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-public-barack-obama-s-giving-the-simple-version-of-his-beliefs-for/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) [Browse all 1,672 Barack quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was the Democratic Party, it was the Presidential election. We elected a president [Barack Obama]; we didn't elect a king. 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