--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't hear our president [Barack…" description: "\"We don't hear our president [Barack Obama] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving a speech in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg" --- # We don't hear our president \[Barack Obama\] talking about… ![“We don't hear our president [Barack Obama] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving a speech in Detroit. That's fine, but speaking to Tim Geithner, speaking to Larry Summers. When are you going to make jobs, jobs, jobs a priority rather than…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg) > “We don't hear our president \[Barack Obama\] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving a speech in Detroit. That's fine, but speaking to Tim Geithner, speaking to Larry Summers. When are you going to make jobs, jobs, jobs a priority rather than Wall Street, Wall Street, Wall Street a priority? That's what I'm concerned about.” [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 criticizes the focus on elite financial interests over creating quality jobs for all citizens. **In simple terms:** Prioritizing Wall Street over jobs is wrong. Key Takeaway Advocate for policies that create broad, high‑quality employment. Themes economics politics justice Mood concerned urgent Type political activist When to use this quote - government budgeting - legislative debates - community organizing Key Concepts income inequality labor market policy priorities Questions to Reflect On - What policies could balance financial stability and job creation? - How can citizens influence political priorities? A Different Perspective The statement may oversimplify complex economic trade‑offs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Priorities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priorities/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want to cost jobs. My priority is jobs. And so what I do is I bring down the tax rates, lower deductions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-don-t-want-to-cost-jobs-my-priority-is-jobs-and-so-what-i-do-is-i/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Jobs are a priority for every country. Doing more to improve regulation and help entrepreneurs is the key to creating jobs - and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/jobs-are-a-priority-for-every-country-doing-more-to-improve/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [When I used to give priority to a girl then she used to show me attitude but when I stopped giving her priorities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-tripathi/when-i-used-to-give-priority-to-a-girl-then-she-used-to-show-me/) Alok Tripathi > [The one who do not give priority to his /her family wont be giving any priority to you as well..so think before you act..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geethanjalithampy/the-one-who-do-not-give-priority-to-his-her-family-wont-be-giving-any/) [Geethanjalithampy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geethanjalithampy/) > [When you make giving a priority, something happens inside of you. Especially when it's financially challenging to do so. It's like you loosen your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/when-you-make-giving-a-priority-something-happens-inside-of-you/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [Generosity won't happen unless you make it a priority. The best way to make giving a priority is to make it the very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/generosity-won-t-happen-unless-you-make-it-a-priority-the-best-way-to/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [A lot of people - a lot - have urged me to seek political office. All kinds of different jobs. Everybody has got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-iger/a-lot-of-people-a-lot-have-urged-me-to-seek-political-office-all/) [Bob Iger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-iger/) > [All parents are trying to balance. Look, I'm lucky in the sense that I can control my hours. I can choose my jobs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/all-parents-are-trying-to-balance-look-i-m-lucky-in-the-sense-that-i/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [Directing is such alchemy, it's so easy to fail. And I've seen people who are great at their jobs because everybody has a go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/directing-is-such-alchemy-it-s-so-easy-to-fail-and-i-ve-seen-people/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [Everybody else on the estate we lived in worked in construction, or in shops, and they all lost their jobs. Everybody became unemployed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cmat/everybody-else-on-the-estate-we-lived-in-worked-in-construction-or-in/) [CMAT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cmat/) > [People are really worried about their jobs. That's what everybody talks to me about today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-murray/people-are-really-worried-about-their-jobs-that-s-what-everybody/) [Patty Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-murray/) > [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/) > [I am seeing all the guys, like Earnie Shavers, Tex Cobb, and Larry Holmes all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/i-am-seeing-all-the-guys-like-earnie-shavers-tex-cobb-and-larry/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) ## 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 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 > [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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't hear our president [Barack Obama] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving a speech in Detroit. That's fine, but speaking to Tim Geithner, speaking to Larry Summers. When are you going to make jobs, jobs, jobs a priority rather than Wall Street, Wall Street, Wall Street a priority? 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