--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eisenhower was less deferential to the…" description: "\"Eisenhower was less deferential to the military than he seemed likely to be, Kennedy was not at all beholden to the pope, George W. Bush was smarter th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/david-k-shipler-29968_barack_eisenhower-was-less-deferential-to-the-m_2013121.jpg" --- # Eisenhower was less deferential to the military than he… ![“Eisenhower was less deferential to the military than he seemed likely to be, Kennedy was not at all beholden to the pope, George W. Bush was smarter than portrayed and Barack Obama has not led a charge from the left - least of all on behalf of the civil liberties that have eroded since September…” quote by David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/david-k-shipler-29968_barack_eisenhower-was-less-deferential-to-the-m_2013121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/david-k-shipler-29968_barack_eisenhower-was-less-deferential-to-the-m_2013121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/david-k-shipler-29968_barack_eisenhower-was-less-deferential-to-the-m_2013121.jpg) > “Eisenhower was less deferential to the military than he seemed likely to be, Kennedy was not at all beholden to the pope, George W. Bush was smarter than portrayed and Barack Obama has not led a charge from the left - least of all on behalf of the civil liberties that have eroded since September 11, 2001.” [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how political leaders are perceived versus their actual independence and policy actions, especially regarding civil liberties after 9/11. **In simple terms:** Leaders may appear independent but often align with powerful interests, affecting freedoms. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about political independence. Themes politics civil liberties leadership perception power Mood critical analytical Type political commentary When to use this quote - voting decisions - public policy debates - media analysis - civil rights advocacy Key Concepts independence policy media narrative civil rights Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate a leader’s true independence? - What safeguards protect civil liberties? A Different Perspective Leaders may still act independently despite pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beholden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beholden/) [Civil liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-liberties/) [Eroded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eroded/) [Liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberties/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) ## Related quotes > [The way I think liberties get eroded is not that all of a sudden you become an Orwellian state, but gradually it becomes harder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/the-way-i-think-liberties-get-eroded-is-not-that-all-of-a-sudden-you/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [“We must pose the familiar question about how far our civil liberties have been eroded by the national security state… Somehow it is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/we-must-pose-the-familiar-question-about-how-far-our-civil-liberties/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [There comes a time in every athlete's life, where the scenarios change and the landscape has eroded from what made you fall in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/there-comes-a-time-in-every-athlete-s-life-where-the-scenarios-change/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [All our rights are gradually eroded as government gets bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/all-our-rights-are-gradually-eroded-as-government-gets-bigger/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [And what has become of it, where is that onetime love? Now it is the grave of a bird, a drop of black quartz,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/and-what-has-become-of-it-where-is-that-onetime-love-now-it-is-the/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [And the very act of living is a tide; at first it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/and-the-very-act-of-living-is-a-tide-at-first-it-seems-to-make-no/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps, but we have not done so; instead, we have drifted. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/we-know-we-have-to-face-hard-truths-and-take-strong-steps-but-we-have/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [TV has lost a lot of its self-confidence as its power has been eroded by the internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/tv-has-lost-a-lot-of-its-self-confidence-as-its-power-has-been-eroded/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [There used to be this real sense of community integrity in rock. It has really eroded. Everyone seems to be on their own now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/there-used-to-be-this-real-sense-of-community-integrity-in-rock-it/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [“they’d fought like hellions, crashed into each other like two giant stones. That eventually they’d eroded each other into the perfect fit, become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/they-d-fought-like-hellions-crashed-into-each-other-like-two-giant/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Sometimes you'll go back to cross that bridge you thought would always be there, and you'll find that time has eroded it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-ll-go-back-to-cross-that-bridge-you-thought-would/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Turkey was fantastic, Turkey was, like, mystical and such a special place. Just unique, something that's really hard to describe, such beauty, those mountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violante-placido/turkey-was-fantastic-turkey-was-like-mystical-and-such-a-special-2/) [Violante Placido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violante-placido/) > [“how strange to find that the present contained such a bright shard of the living past, damaged and eroded but not destroyed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/how-strange-to-find-that-the-present-contained-such-a-bright-shard-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [The value of the minimum wage shouldn't be eroded, and it has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-garagiola/the-value-of-the-minimum-wage-shouldn-t-be-eroded-and-it-has-been/) Robert J. Garagiola > [What we have seen in recent years in the United States is the church's rights to express itself, and to conduct its own affairs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-l-shelley/what-we-have-seen-in-recent-years-in-the-united-states-is-the-church/) [Bruce L. Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-l-shelley/) ## More by David K. Shipler > [Obama behaves like a centrist who leans tentatively left on certain social programs but boldly right on military force and civil liberties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/obama-behaves-like-a-centrist-who-leans-tentatively-left-on-certain/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [“The law is too important to be left to the lawyers, to paraphrase Georges Clemenceau about war and generals. We laymen know too little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/the-law-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-the-lawyers-to-paraphrase/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Jerusalem is a festival and a lamentation. Its song is a sigh across the ages, a delicate, robust, mournful psalm at the great junction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/jerusalem-is-a-festival-and-a-lamentation-its-song-is-a-sigh-across/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Workers on the edge of poverty are essential to America’s prosperity, but their well-being is not treated as an integral part of the whole.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/workers-on-the-edge-of-poverty-are-essential-to-america-s-prosperity/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Obama prefers to look forward, not back, as he has stated. So at least during his tenure, there will be no reliable record compiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/obama-prefers-to-look-forward-not-back-as-he-has-stated-so-at-least/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Caricatures created by politics never fit comfortably into the Oval Office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/caricatures-created-by-politics-never-fit-comfortably-into-the-oval/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Here among the constant ruins and rebuilding of civilizations lies the coexistence of diversity and intolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/here-among-the-constant-ruins-and-rebuilding-of-civilizations-lies/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Obama has already rejected the bright sunlight of public knowledge, which is democracy's great disinfectant and cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/obama-has-already-rejected-the-bright-sunlight-of-public-knowledge/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [“The day I arrived in Yakutsk with my colleague Peter Osnos of The Washington Post, it was 46 below. When our plane landed, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/the-day-i-arrived-in-yakutsk-with-my-colleague-peter-osnos-of-the/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Watching foreign affairs is sometimes like watching a magician; the eye is drawn to the hand performing the dramatic flourishes, leaving the other hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/watching-foreign-affairs-is-sometimes-like-watching-a-magician-the/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Affairs of state tend to drive most presidents toward the center on both foreign and domestic policy, no matter where on the political spectrum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/affairs-of-state-tend-to-drive-most-presidents-toward-the-center-on/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [There's something about Barack Obama that induces Americans to imagine what they cannot see. The Right envisions a vile socialist, while many on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/there-s-something-about-barack-obama-that-induces-americans-to/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [The Holocaust never quite leaves Israeli Jews alone. Arabs use it against them and they use it against Arabs. Jews use it against other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/the-holocaust-never-quite-leaves-israeli-jews-alone-arabs-use-it/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [If you have never been tortured, or locked up and verbally threatened, you may find it hard to believe that anyone would confess to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/if-you-have-never-been-tortured-or-locked-up-and-verbally-threatened/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) > [Officers are taught to use all the tricks and lies that courts permit within the scope of the Fifth Amendment's shield against self-incrimination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-shipler/officers-are-taught-to-use-all-the-tricks-and-lies-that-courts-permit/) [David K. Shipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) [Explore all 18 David K. Shipler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-k-shipler/) ## 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. 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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": "Eisenhower was less deferential to the military than he seemed likely to be, Kennedy was not at all beholden to the pope, George W. Bush was smarter than portrayed and Barack Obama has not led a charge from the left - least of all on behalf of the civil liberties that have eroded since September 11, 2001.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David K. 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