--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As he enters his final term, with the…" description: "\"As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music playing out there in the distance, Barack Obama will use the history that he has come to embody and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/charlie-pierce-13624_again_as-he-enters-his-final-term-with-the-ele_1623584.jpg" --- # As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music… ![“As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music playing out there in the distance, Barack Obama will use the history that he has come to embody and, perhaps, even to fulfill, as part of a larger project that never will be completed but only finished, over and over again.” quote by Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/charlie-pierce-13624_again_as-he-enters-his-final-term-with-the-ele_1623584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/charlie-pierce-13624_again_as-he-enters-his-final-term-with-the-ele_1623584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/charlie-pierce-13624_again_as-he-enters-his-final-term-with-the-ele_1623584.jpg) > “As he enters his final term, with the elegiac music playing out there in the distance, Barack Obama will use the history that he has come to embody and, perhaps, even to fulfill, as part of a larger project that never will be completed but only finished, over and over again.” [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on Obama’s legacy as an ongoing, unfinished project, emphasizing cyclical historical fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Obama’s legacy is seen as a never‑ending, evolving story. Key Takeaway Consider the lasting impact of leadership. Themes politics legacy history continuity Mood reflective analytical thought‑provoking Type political historical When to use this quote - academic analysis - public discourse - media commentary - civic education Key Concepts historical cycles public service political narrative Questions to Reflect On - What does “never completed but only finished” mean for political change? - How can citizens contribute to ongoing societal projects? A Different Perspective Legacy narratives can oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enters/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [Every president, as he nears the end of his final term in office, thinks about his place in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/every-president-as-he-nears-the-end-of-his-final-term-in-office/) [Kathleen Troia McFarland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-troia-mcfarland/) > [“The greatest changes in history have come because people were able to shake off what others told them to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/the-greatest-changes-in-history-have-come-because-people-were-able-to/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Reality ensures that the end of history will never come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/reality-ensures-that-the-end-of-history-will-never-come/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [I like the fact that I'm from the South and that I have this rich history behind me. I come from a family of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-willis-holt/i-like-the-fact-that-i-m-from-the-south-and-that-i-have-this-rich/) [Kimberly Willis Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-willis-holt/) > [The greatest changes in history have come when people were able to shake off what others told them to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/the-greatest-changes-in-history-have-come-when-people-were-able-to/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“My goal is to make history come alive. My fictitious characters are woven into the tapestry of actual history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-b-huesing/my-goal-is-to-make-history-come-alive-my-fictitious-characters-are/) C.B. Huesing > [Even some of the most jaded D.C. types are still impressed when the leader of the free world enters the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-c-rosenberg/even-some-of-the-most-jaded-d-c-types-are-still-impressed-when-the/) [Joel C. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-c-rosenberg/) > [Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/unless-a-man-enters-upon-the-vocation-intended-for-him-by-nature-and-2/) [P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/) > [God enters through the wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-enters-through-the-wound/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Idea enters the brain from the outside. It rearranges the furniture to make it more to its liking. It finds other Ideas already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/the-idea-enters-the-brain-from-the-outside-it-rearranges-the/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/there-is-no-requirement-that-police-stop-a-person-who-enters-a-police/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [“You think horror enters spectacularly. It doesn't. It just prosaically turns up. Even in the first seconds you know you'll find it a room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/you-think-horror-enters-spectacularly-it-doesn-t-it-just-prosaically/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When the term 'machine gun' enters common parlance, the word 'machine' becomes much more sinister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/when-the-term-machine-gun-enters-common-parlance-the-word-machine/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [Working in the digital domain, you're using approximations of things; the actual sound wave never enters the equation. You deal with sections of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-booth/working-in-the-digital-domain-you-re-using-approximations-of-things/) [Sean Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-booth/) > [An actor entering through the door, you've got nothing. But if he enters through the window, you've got a situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/an-actor-entering-through-the-door-you-ve-got-nothing-but-if-he/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) ## More by Charlie Pierce > [There is a barbarism in the American soul, and we must protect some of it by law. To root it out is to endanger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-barbarism-in-the-american-soul-and-we-must-protect-some-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [This has been the new normal since September 11. Everyone knows, but nobody says, that if something happens again, the elite consensus in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/this-has-been-the-new-normal-since-september-11-everyone-knows-but/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [For all the huffing and blowing we get about rugged individualism, the American spirit and the American experiment always have had at their heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/for-all-the-huffing-and-blowing-we-get-about-rugged-individualism-the/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There is a lot in American politics (and in American life) that is angry, greedy, reckless and violent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-lot-in-american-politics-and-in-american-life-that-is/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The idea that America elected a black man to be its president forty years after it declined to allow Martin Luther King Jr. to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-idea-that-america-elected-a-black-man-to-be-its-president-forty/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [You know, what genuinely makes me uneasy with the way things are going are not - is not really that Trump is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/you-know-what-genuinely-makes-me-uneasy-with-the-way-things-are-going/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The institutions of college athletics exist primarily as unreality fueled by deceit. The unreality is that universities should be in the business of providing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-institutions-of-college-athletics-exist-primarily-as-unreality/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/in-order-to-get-big-things-done-sometimes-presidents-have-to-be-deft/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There was no way to lock down, or tighten up, or Fail-Safe into Security Theater a race that covers 26.2 miles, a race that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-was-no-way-to-lock-down-or-tighten-up-or-fail-safe-into/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [The man is the Piltdown Man of modern politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-man-is-the-piltdown-man-of-modern-politics/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [To recognize that head injuries were as essential a part of football as they are of boxing would be to erase the fine distinction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/to-recognize-that-head-injuries-were-as-essential-a-part-of-football/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [School districts around the country, and the taxpayers that support them, have a moral right to the information the NFL might have concerning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/school-districts-around-the-country-and-the-taxpayers-that-support/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [There are few colonial nations anymore. Instead, we are colonized by financial institutions beyond our political control. We are colonized with pens and papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-are-few-colonial-nations-anymore-instead-we-are-colonized-by/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [Obama ran as sane and decent, as though we were electing a mood, and not necessarily a set of policies. Unfortunately, Obama has governed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/obama-ran-as-sane-and-decent-as-though-we-were-electing-a-mood-and/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [One of the great changes wrought by the increased public awareness of Alzheimer's - and thank you, Nancy Reagan, you wonderful tough old dame,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/one-of-the-great-changes-wrought-by-the-increased-public-awareness-of/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) [Explore all 49 Charlie Pierce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) ## More Again quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. 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So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [In theater, one of the biggest problems when you're rehearsing comedy over and over again is that you stop laughing at each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ashley-carter/in-theater-one-of-the-biggest-problems-when-you-re-rehearsing-comedy/) [Lauren Ashley Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ashley-carter/) > [I'd like to do some female roles again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/i-d-like-to-do-some-female-roles-again/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know - it's everywhere. You could be next. 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