--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If they think they have issues with the…" description: "\"If they think they have issues with the president not doing enough for the poor now, wait and see what happens if the opposition takes office. Then the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/cornel-west-708_doing_if-they-think-they-have-issues-with-the_2429625.jpg" --- # If they think they have issues with the president not… ![“If they think they have issues with the president not doing enough for the poor now, wait and see what happens if the opposition takes office. Then they would really need a poverty tour.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/cornel-west-708_doing_if-they-think-they-have-issues-with-the_2429625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/cornel-west-708_doing_if-they-think-they-have-issues-with-the_2429625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aaa/cornel-west-708_doing_if-they-think-they-have-issues-with-the_2429625.jpg) > “If they think they have issues with the president not doing enough for the poor now, wait and see what happens if the opposition takes office. Then they would really need a poverty tour.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker warns that criticism of current leadership’s poverty policies is superficial; true test will come when opposition governs, exposing deeper systemic issues. **In simple terms:** Criticizing the president’s lack of help for the poor is easy, but real challenges appear when the other side takes power. Key Takeaway Prepare for policy shifts and hold all leaders accountable. Themes politics poverty accountability leadership policy change Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - election cycles - social activism - policy analysis - community organizing Key Concepts systemic inequality political rhetoric governance critique Questions to Reflect On - What concrete actions can citizens take to demand better policies? - How can we evaluate all parties on poverty solutions? A Different Perspective Opposition may also fail to address poverty, not just the current administration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) ## Related quotes > [“The Poverty Tour provided the opportunity to meet many people who had been living paycheck to paycheck even before the economic downturn. To so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-poverty-tour-provided-the-opportunity-to-meet-many-people-who-had/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Any one who knows what theworth of family affection is among the lower classes, and who has seen the array of little portraits stuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-one-who-knows-what-theworth-of-family-affection-is-among-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [David Cameron needs to get his head out of the sand. He and his colleagues need to see what poverty is really like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciana-berger/david-cameron-needs-to-get-his-head-out-of-the-sand-he-and-his/) [Luciana Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciana-berger/) > [“This illustrates an important point: then as now, Americans tend to think about issues like macroeconomic policy or foreign affairs only when things go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/this-illustrates-an-important-point-then-as-now-americans-tend-to/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [We've got to, in many ways, start thinking more like mayors who think about issues as problems that need to be solved as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/we-ve-got-to-in-many-ways-start-thinking-more-like-mayors-who-think/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [Speaking personally, I didn't think 40 would be a big issue, and I don't think I have issues about age, but there are naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bartlett/speaking-personally-i-didn-t-think-40-would-be-a-big-issue-and-i-don/) [Murray Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bartlett/) > [I think there are other issues that the Democrats could use to rally evangelicals. There are a lot of us, for instance, who believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/i-think-there-are-other-issues-that-the-democrats-could-use-to-rally/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [I think about issues. I use my economic training to devise solutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gita-gopinath/i-think-about-issues-i-use-my-economic-training-to-devise-solutions/) [Gita Gopinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gita-gopinath/) > [It's tricky when you have people tuning in to hear about sports, not politics, but I think in issues where they intertwine, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-qerim/it-s-tricky-when-you-have-people-tuning-in-to-hear-about-sports-not/) [Molly Qerim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-qerim/) > [And so popular culture raises issues that are very important, actually, in the country I think. You get issues of the First Amendment rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-loder/and-so-popular-culture-raises-issues-that-are-very-important-actually/) [Kurt Loder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-loder/) > [Unquestionably consider that that you teatsd. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the internet the simplest factor to bear in mind of. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unquestionably-consider-that-that-you-teatsd-your-favorite-reason/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think that many of the issues they were facing in South Africa were the same as those I was singing about. Conscription, resisting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sixto-rodriguez/i-think-that-many-of-the-issues-they-were-facing-in-south-africa-were/) [Sixto Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sixto-rodriguez/) > [Most times people don't take your mistakes much more serious as you think. They have other serious issues to focus on. No one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/most-times-people-don-t-take-your-mistakes-much-more-serious-as-you/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I think this is one of those issues where the deeper you dig, the murkier it gets - and everyone who has spent a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-curry/i-think-this-is-one-of-those-issues-where-the-deeper-you-dig-the/) [Marshall Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-curry/) > [I think the issues around diversity of all kinds are really a huge problem in the startup world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lyons/i-think-the-issues-around-diversity-of-all-kinds-are-really-a-huge/) [Daniel Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lyons/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Doing quotes > [I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm damn well gonna do it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-but-i-m-damn-well-gonna-do-it/) [Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [If you think you're doing everything right, then you have a tendency to stand pat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stockton/if-you-think-you-re-doing-everything-right-then-you-have-a-tendency/) [John Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stockton/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [I was in high school and I had an independent album out, and we kept sending that out, and I was doing shows. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hilton/i-was-in-high-school-and-i-had-an-independent-album-out-and-we-kept/) [Tyler Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hilton/) > [If I'm not thinking about you then I am texting you , if I am not texting you then I am on the phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-m-not-thinking-about-you-then-i-am-texting-you-if-i-am-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [.\*. why u hate me..Bitches be doing the most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kitty/why-u-hate-me-bitches-be-doing-the-most/) Kitty > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When I made it, I still didn't wave the flag and say, Yeah go Asian people. I do want people to know that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-hugo/when-i-made-it-i-still-didn-t-wave-the-flag-and-say-yeah-go-asian/) [Chad Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-hugo/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [You can't drain the swamp, as President Trump has touted doing, without getting rid of Mitch McConnell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcgrath/you-can-t-drain-the-swamp-as-president-trump-has-touted-doing-without/) [Amy McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcgrath/) Browse all 10,133 Doing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If they think they have issues with the president not doing enough for the poor now, wait and see what happens if the opposition takes office. 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