--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: President Obama seems to understand the…" description: "\"President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a 'set of suggestions.'\" — David Mamet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg" --- # President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a… ![“President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a 'set of suggestions.'” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg) > “President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a 'set of suggestions.'” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests Obama treats the Constitution flexibly, as guidelines rather than strict rules. **In simple terms:** Obama sees the Constitution as flexible guidelines. Key Takeaway Question rigid adherence to foundational laws. Themes politics law interpretation Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical political When to use this quote - legal debates - policy making - civic education - government accountability Key Concepts constitutionalism flexibility political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How does flexibility affect legal certainty? - Should foundational documents evolve? A Different Perspective Critics argue this view undermines rule of law. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-set-4741891/) [Obama Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama-understand-4174838/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-obama/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Suggestions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggestions/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-constitution-3779121/) ## Related quotes > [I like Obama, but I understand that his hands are tied, the way Congress is reacting. It's just partisan politics everywhere, and don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-like-obama-but-i-understand-that-his-hands-are-tied-the-way/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [ “A Constitution is\] The set of the most important rules and common understandings in any given country that regulate\[s\] the relations among that country’s… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/a-constitution-is-the-set-of-the-most-important-rules-and-common/) [Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-asok-kumar-ganguly/) > [Questions of such gravity go down to the very foundations of the government. If the provisions of the Constitution can be set aside by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-johnson-field/questions-of-such-gravity-go-down-to-the-very-foundations-of-the/) [Stephen Johnson Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-johnson-field/) > [Here I close my opinion. I could not say less in view of questions of such gravity that go down to the very foundations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-johnson-field/here-i-close-my-opinion-i-could-not-say-less-in-view-of-questions-of/) [Stephen Johnson Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-johnson-field/) > [Because I understand the Constitution, I understand democratic ideals and our parliamentary system, it's an easy transition to then say 'OK, what are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslyn-lewis/because-i-understand-the-constitution-i-understand-democratic-ideals/) [Leslyn Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslyn-lewis/) > [We need to put people on the bench that understand the Constitution is not a living and breathing document. It is to be interpreted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/we-need-to-put-people-on-the-bench-that-understand-the-constitution/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [We believe in humility and integrity, the spirit of one people, bound together under God. We understand that the Constitution was written to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/we-believe-in-humility-and-integrity-the-spirit-of-one-people-bound/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [A lot of Americans do not have an appreciation for our history. They do not understand the Constitution, why we have these norms. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/a-lot-of-americans-do-not-have-an-appreciation-for-our-history-they/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [I think I understand the Constitution a little bit because in 1971 we went off the gold standard under President Nixon into the Federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/i-think-i-understand-the-constitution-a-little-bit-because-in-1971-we/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [If children do not understand the Constitution, they cannot understand how our government functions, or what their rights and responsibilities are as citizens of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-roberts/if-children-do-not-understand-the-constitution-they-cannot-understand/) [John Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-roberts/) > [“One should not punish a criminal unless one is able to help that criminal understand the constitution of the universe".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ohsawa/one-should-not-punish-a-criminal-unless-one-is-able-to-help-that/) [George Ohsawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ohsawa/) > [Democracy is the suggestion box for slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/democracy-is-the-suggestion-box-for-slaves/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [I spend a long time casting, but once I've cast a film there's a reason why I selected those people. So I'm hands-on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-spend-a-long-time-casting-but-once-i-ve-cast-a-film-there-s-a/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Nothing evades our attention as persistently as that which we take for granted... the decades roll on without even a suggestion that perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-brady/nothing-evades-our-attention-as-persistently-as-that-which-we-take/) [Marion Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-brady/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Constitution quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/) [Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [The judiciary must not take on the coloration of whatever may be popular at the moment. We are guardian of rights, and we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-bird/the-judiciary-must-not-take-on-the-coloration-of-whatever-may-be/) [Rose Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-bird/) > [There is not a revolution that succe Women are suffering because they are being excluded. The high military council excluded women from the committee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/there-is-not-a-revolution-that-succe-women-are-suffering-because-they/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“The Court has a special responsibility to ensure that the Constitution works in practice. While education, including the transmission of our civic values from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/the-court-has-a-special-responsibility-to-ensure-that-the/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) [Joe Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pitts/) > [Nothing from man's hands, nor law, nor constitution, can be final. Truth alone is final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sumner/nothing-from-man-s-hands-nor-law-nor-constitution-can-be-final-truth/) [Charles Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sumner/) > [“I am apprehensive, Sir, that in the warmth of my feelings, I may have uttered expressions, which were too vehement. If such has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-am-apprehensive-sir-that-in-the-warmth-of-my-feelings-i-may-have/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Conservative political opinion in America cleaves to the tradition of the judge as passive interpreter, believing that his absolute loyalty to authoritative law is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/conservative-political-opinion-in-america-cleaves-to-the-tradition-of/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) [Browse all 4,507 Constitution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a 'set of suggestions.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/president-obama-seems-to-understand-the-constitution-as-a-set-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Constitution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/president-obama-seems-to-understand-the-constitution-as-a-set-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/david-mamet-1178_constitution_president-obama-seems-to-understand-the_692299.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“President Obama seems to understand the Constitution as a 'set of suggestions.'” — David Mamet", "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 Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "President Obama seems to understand the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/president-obama-seems-to-understand-the-constitution-as-a-set-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/president-obama-seems-to-understand-the-constitution-as-a-set-of/#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 } } ] } ```