--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The President in particular is very much…" description: "\"“The President in particular is very much a figurehead—he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/douglas-adams-122_political-power_the-president-in-particular-is-very-much_2716250.png" --- # The President in particular is very much a figurehead—he… ![“The President in particular is very much a figurehead—he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/douglas-adams-122_political-power_the-president-in-particular-is-very-much_2716250.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/douglas-adams-122_political-power_the-president-in-particular-is-very-much_2716250.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73b/douglas-adams-122_political-power_the-president-in-particular-is-very-much_2716250.png) > ““The President in particular is very much a figurehead—he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had—he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud. Very very few people realize that the President and the Government have virtually no power at all, and of these few people only six know whence ultimate political power is wielded. Most of the others secretly believe that the ultimate decision-making process is handled by a computer. They couldn’t be more wrong.”” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The President is a symbolic figure, lacking real authority, serving as a distraction. **In simple terms:** President is a symbolic distraction. Key Takeaway Question the true sources of power. Themes politics leadership symbolism Mood skeptical inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - elections - public discourse - media analysis - civic education Key Concepts authority public perception media Questions to Reflect On - Who truly holds power in your society? - How do symbols influence governance? A Different Perspective Power may still be exercised behind the scenes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Political power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-power/) [Real power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-power/) [Zaphod beeblebrox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zaphod-beeblebrox/) ## Related quotes > [What's sort of remarkable is that, especially in the Israel and the Russia cases, you have got a U.S. citizen, Donald Trump, siding with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/what-s-sort-of-remarkable-is-that-especially-in-the-israel-and-the/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Patriotism is not necessarily defined as blind devotion to a president's particular agenda - and that to dispute a presidential policy is not necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/patriotism-is-not-necessarily-defined-as-blind-devotion-to-a/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Under this president, we have a government that has grown too big, too costly and now even more overbearing by forcing religious entities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/under-this-president-we-have-a-government-that-has-grown-too-big-too/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [It's up to the people of the United States to choose who they want as their president. 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The other turned round to see what the first was looking at, but it wasn't looking at anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-of-zaphod-s-heads-looked-away-the-other-turned-round-to-see-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I'm up to here with cool, okay? I am so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-m-up-to-here-with-cool-okay-i-am-so-amazingly-cool-you-could-keep-a/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You ARE Zaphod Beeblebrox?' 'Yeah,' said Zaphod, 'but don't shout it out or they'll all want one.' 'THE Zaphod Beeblebrox?' 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"Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. 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