--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In an age of reckonings, when so many…" description: "\"In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due, Obama has made the case for an America that can no longer do it all. It must pick its fights..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg" --- # In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due… ![“In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due, Obama has made the case for an America that can no longer do it all. It must pick its fights.” quote by David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg) > “In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due, Obama has made the case for an America that can no longer do it all. It must pick its fights.” [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The nation must prioritize limited resources, choosing battles wisely rather than attempting to address every issue. **In simple terms:** Pick priorities, don’t try everything. Key Takeaway Focus on a few critical goals. Themes politics prioritization resource management Mood analytical strategic Type policy political When to use this quote - budgeting - legislation - campaign strategy - public discourse Key Concepts public policy strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - Which issues deserve most attention? - How to balance inclusivity with focus? A Different Perspective Choosing priorities can alienate some groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ## Related quotes > [In Obama's case, we've enabled affirmative action to find a home in the nation's highest office. There you have it. I said it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/in-obama-s-case-we-ve-enabled-affirmative-action-to-find-a-home-in/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [In the long run, however much damage we come through, Obama's vision is the one that's going to be left standing. It's a question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-chait/in-the-long-run-however-much-damage-we-come-through-obama-s-vision-is/) [Jonathan Chait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-chait/) > [When bills come due, only cash is legal tender. Don't leave home without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/when-bills-come-due-only-cash-is-legal-tender-don-t-leave-home/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [When bills come in, Medicare get so many bills every day, it pays most of them and then goes back later to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/when-bills-come-in-medicare-get-so-many-bills-every-day-it-pays-most/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [ I think the whole dynamic is different. Whereas in \[Barack\] Obama's case, even though there was no incumbent, he was able to run against… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kristol/i-think-the-whole-dynamic-is-different-whereas-in-barack-obama-s-case/) [William Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kristol/) > [The presidency of Barack Obama is a case study in stupid does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-presidency-of-barack-obama-is-a-case-study-in-stupid-does/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [If you're Obama, can you imagine being lectured to about honesty and integrity from a convicted perjurer, Bill Clinton? My gosh, folks, I mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/if-you-re-obama-can-you-imagine-being-lectured-to-about-honesty-and/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [In many traditions, hawks are sacred: Apollo's messengers for the Greeks, sun symbols for the ancient Egyptians and, in the case of the Lakota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burnside/in-many-traditions-hawks-are-sacred-apollo-s-messengers-for-the/) [John Burnside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burnside/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [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/) > [Just in case you forgot, I'm always here for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-a-bad-bish/just-in-case-you-forgot-i-m-always-here-for-you/) Im\_a\_bad\_bish > [Apparently, there are all sorts of reasons why your hair might stop growing, including split ends, breakage and overuse of heated styling tools -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/apparently-there-are-all-sorts-of-reasons-why-your-hair-might-stop/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [A lot of young guys coming up in this league, they're given the spotlight right away, depending on draft stature or whatever the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/a-lot-of-young-guys-coming-up-in-this-league-they-re-given-the/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) ## More by David E. Sanger > [The remarkable thing about the Chinese is that they've operated differently than the Russians, the Iranians, and the North Koreans. By and large, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/the-remarkable-thing-about-the-chinese-is-that-they-ve-operated/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [A Trump presidency will plunge the United States into an era of unknowns that has little parallel in the nation's 240-year history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/a-trump-presidency-will-plunge-the-united-states-into-an-era-of/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [In the old nuclear age, you could sit under a big screen under a mountain in Colorado, and you could see where the missiles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/in-the-old-nuclear-age-you-could-sit-under-a-big-screen-under-a/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [Once cyber crosses into the realm of the physical, then it's a physical attack, but it starts with cyber. And the idea of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/once-cyber-crosses-into-the-realm-of-the-physical-then-it-s-a/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [Mr. Obama is the first president to have grown up in the region - he lived in Indonesia as an elementary school student -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/mr-obama-is-the-first-president-to-have-grown-up-in-the-region-he/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [American officials sometimes dig into corporations because they are suspected to be witting or unwitting suppliers of technology to the North Koreans or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/american-officials-sometimes-dig-into-corporations-because-they-are/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [What the Russians did in the election in 2016 was clearly short of war, yet it was a pretty aggressive act to go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/what-the-russians-did-in-the-election-in-2016-was-clearly-short-of/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [When Japan was on the rise, American governors would come to inspect Toyota City and study 'just in time' manufacturing to increase efficiency; when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/when-japan-was-on-the-rise-american-governors-would-come-to-inspect/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [“We are in a strange world,' one senior Israeli official said to me, 'where the defense minister and to a lesser degree the prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/we-are-in-a-strange-world-one-senior-israeli-official-said-to-me/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [The government does not deny it routinely spies to advance American economic advantage, which is part of its broad definition of how it protects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/the-government-does-not-deny-it-routinely-spies-to-advance-american/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [There are certainly some secrets the government needs to protect, but many of the most important clues about revolutions, nuclear transfers, and new military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/there-are-certainly-some-secrets-the-government-needs-to-protect-but/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [State oil companies in Saudi Arabia, Africa, Iran, and Mexico have often been intelligence targets for the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/state-oil-companies-in-saudi-arabia-africa-iran-and-mexico-have-often/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [“China's internal divisions have made it far harder to strike the kind of deals that made it possible for the two countries to open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/china-s-internal-divisions-have-made-it-far-harder-to-strike-the-kind/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [We have spent so much time worrying about a 'cyber Pearl Harbor,'' the attack that takes out the power grid, that we have focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/we-have-spent-so-much-time-worrying-about-a-cyber-pearl-harbor-the/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) > [When Russia's intelligence agencies obtained some of the National Security Agency's secrets about its own cyberweapons, it appeared to do so by manipulating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/when-russia-s-intelligence-agencies-obtained-some-of-the-national/) [David E. Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) [Explore all 44 David E. Sanger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due, Obama has made the case for an America that can no longer do it all. It must pick its fights.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David E. Sanger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bills-have-come-due-obama-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bills-have-come-due-obama-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/david-e-sanger-15061_age_in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bil_2941388.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In an age of reckonings, when so many bills have come due, Obama has made the case for an America that can…” — David E. Sanger", "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": "David E. Sanger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-sanger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In an age of reckonings, when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bills-have-come-due-obama-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-sanger/in-an-age-of-reckonings-when-so-many-bills-have-come-due-obama-has/#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 } } ] } ```