--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow…" description: "\"Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide between rich and poor. For him the ultimate social value is fairness. Imposing it upon the America..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png" --- # Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide… ![“Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide between rich and poor. For him the ultimate social value is fairness. Imposing it upon the American social order is his mission.” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png) > “Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide between rich and poor. For him the ultimate social value is fairness. Imposing it upon the American social order is his mission.” [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obama aims to reduce economic inequality, viewing fairness as the highest social value and seeking to embed it in American society. **In simple terms:** Obama seeks fairness by narrowing rich‑poor gaps. Key Takeaway Promote policies that advance economic fairness. Themes politics social justice economic policy leadership Mood analytical critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - public policy - social activism - election platforms Key Concepts wealth distribution social equity government reform Questions to Reflect On - How can fairness be pursued without stifling innovation? - What are the trade‑offs of aggressive wealth redistribution? A Different Perspective Balancing fairness with economic growth can be contentious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [Divide Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divide-rich-1857549/) [Fairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairness/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Mission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mission/) [Obama Leveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama-leveler-2607199/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich and poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-and-poor/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) [Social Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-value-1575664/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) ## Related quotes > [We live in a world where corporates are trying to prove that water is a commodity. The economics of this world is inclined towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/we-live-in-a-world-where-corporates-are-trying-to-prove-that-water-is/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [That divide between the rich and poor is so crazy, because even white kids are suffering now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-divide-between-the-rich-and-poor-is-so-crazy-because-even-white/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [It's astounding to me that in a country where there is an ever-growing divide between rich and poor, that people won't accept the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/it-s-astounding-to-me-that-in-a-country-where-there-is-an-ever/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [If only the majority of the wealthiest top 10 percent of Americans own stock directly - which does not include pension and retirement accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moore/if-only-the-majority-of-the-wealthiest-top-10-percent-of-americans/) [Stephen Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moore/) > [All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well born, the other the mass of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/all-communities-divide-themselves-into-the-few-and-the-many-the-first-3/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“all communities divide themselves into the few and the many. the first are the rich and well-born, the other the mass of the people”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/all-communities-divide-themselves-into-the-few-and-the-many-the-first-2/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and the well-born; the other the mass of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/all-communities-divide-themselves-into-the-few-and-the-many-the-first/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [“. . . poetry, like all imaginative creations, divines the human enterprise. This is poetry's social value.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/major-jackson/poetry-like-all-imaginative-creations-divines-the-human-enterprise/) [Major Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/major-jackson/) > [It seems important that the social value factor be more generally recognized as a powerful causal agent in its own right and something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wolcott-sperry/it-seems-important-that-the-social-value-factor-be-more-generally/) [Roger Wolcott Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wolcott-sperry/) > [I have talents aplenty. Unfortunately, precious few of them have any redeeming social value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-have-talents-aplenty-unfortunately-precious-few-of-them-have-any/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [People of all ages, but especially young people, require work that as meaning, or social value. Since they're not getting the kind of long-term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-d-friedman/people-of-all-ages-but-especially-young-people-require-work-that-as/) [Stewart D. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-d-friedman/) > [“Businesses are uniquely capable of creating social value and solving social problems - they have this wonderful fuel called the profit motive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/businesses-are-uniquely-capable-of-creating-social-value-and-solving/) [Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/) > [Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination - so long as we do not assume we have arrived there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/maybe-the-social-value-of-truth-is-as-a-destination-so-long-as-we-do/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [Work is valued by the social value of the worker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/work-is-valued-by-the-social-value-of-the-worker/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Art must unquestionably have a social value; that is, as a potential means of communication it must be addressed, and in comprehensible terms, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rockwell-kent/art-must-unquestionably-have-a-social-value-that-is-as-a-potential/) [Rockwell Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rockwell-kent/) ## More by Charles Krauthammer > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. No nation since Cyrus the Great’s Persia has done more for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/america-is-the-most-welcoming-religiously-tolerant-philo-semitic/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I believe in what I believe, and I think after all these years I've heard a lot of arguments, and I'm convinced by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-believe-in-what-i-believe-and-i-think-after-all-these-years-i-ve/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [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/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide between rich and poor. For him the ultimate social value is fairness. Imposing it upon the American social order is his mission.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Krauthammer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow-the-divide-between-rich-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow-the-divide-between-rich-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/charles-krauthammer-1232_american_obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow_265461.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Obama is a leveler. He has come to narrow the divide between rich and poor. For him the ultimate social…” — Charles Krauthammer", "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": "Charles Krauthammer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Obama is a leveler. He has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow-the-divide-between-rich-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-is-a-leveler-he-has-come-to-narrow-the-divide-between-rich-and/#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 } } ] } ```