--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are more people at Obama's table…" description: "\"There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to facing up to the Republicans' threat to force..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg" --- # There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than… ![“There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to facing up to the Republicans' threat to force a double-dip recession if they didn't get their millionaires' tax cut, they still amounted to nothing. And therein lies our fundamental problem.” quote by Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg) > “There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to facing up to the Republicans' threat to force a double-dip recession if they didn't get their millionaires' tax cut, they still amounted to nothing. And therein lies our fundamental problem.” [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. More voices at political gatherings don’t guarantee effective action against economic threats. **In simple terms:** Many ideas don’t translate into results. Key Takeaway Demand accountability, not just ideas. Themes politics economics leadership Mood critical concerned Type political commentary When to use this quote - campaign strategy - legislative debate - public protest Key Concepts policy paralysis collective inaction Questions to Reflect On - Why do good ideas fail to materialize? - How can we turn discussion into decisive action? A Different Perspective Ideas without power can be empty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Dip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dip/) [Dip Recession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dip-recession-3506973/) [Facing Republicans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facing-republicans-3644836/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Fundamentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Millionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millionaire/) [Offering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offering/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-obama-1105475/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Recession Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recession-didn-1385257/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republicans Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republicans-threat-3644835/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [I am a huge bull on this country. We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-am-a-huge-bull-on-this-country-we-will-not-have-a-double-dip/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Canadians know that the promise of a recession didn't happen because of anything we did here. If you look at all the causes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/canadians-know-that-the-promise-of-a-recession-didn-t-happen-because/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [“There are fears that Britain could be facing a double-dip recession, or worse still, a double-dip with misery sprinkles and fuck-where's-my-job-sauce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/there-are-fears-that-britain-could-be-facing-a-double-dip-recession/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [Growing up, politics never trickled down to the areas we come from. But people from Obama's camp, and Obama himself, reached out to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/growing-up-politics-never-trickled-down-to-the-areas-we-come-from-but/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [It's so sad to see how few people in the Obama administration have any private sector experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foster-friess/it-s-so-sad-to-see-how-few-people-in-the-obama-administration-have/) [Foster Friess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foster-friess/) > [President Clinton is going to embrace President Obama, as he should. They are working together. They're different kinds of people. Obama is cool, Clinton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-richardson/president-clinton-is-going-to-embrace-president-obama-as-he-should/) [Bill Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-richardson/) > [I was in Moscow and I will tell you - you can get along with those people and get along with them well. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-was-in-moscow-and-i-will-tell-you-you-can-get-along-with-those/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Donald Trump has a unique connection with his voters. There aren't that many people personally invested in Barack Obama. The people invested in Obama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-has-a-unique-connection-with-his-voters-there-aren-t/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The idea that people are incapable of making up their own minds about people is something that Obama and his party live with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-idea-that-people-are-incapable-of-making-up-their-own-minds-about/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Unfortunately for the American people, the Obama-Clinton-Rice cabal that led to the Benghazi cover-up was far more interested in political-damage control than serious damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fitton/unfortunately-for-the-american-people-the-obama-clinton-rice-cabal/) [Tom Fitton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fitton/) > [Obama found a lot of people that think just like he does, and he put them in the intelligence community. Can you imagine? When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/obama-found-a-lot-of-people-that-think-just-like-he-does-and-he-put/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [You cannot cover the 50 million new people Obama seeks to cover without more doctors and nurses. But the administration and even the Blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/you-cannot-cover-the-50-million-new-people-obama-seeks-to-cover/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [As a man of colour, I've spent my life asking people to see me for who I am. With Obama in the White House,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-fishburne/as-a-man-of-colour-i-ve-spent-my-life-asking-people-to-see-me-for-who/) [Laurence Fishburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-fishburne/) > [Girl, he wants to dip you in Frosted Flakes and have you for breakfast. That's his favorite cereal, by the way." I...had no words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/girl-he-wants-to-dip-you-in-frosted-flakes-and-have-you-for-breakfast/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) ## More by Eric Alterman > [As with almost every significant aspect of the Bush presidency, its handling of 9/11 was a catastrophe from start to finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/as-with-almost-every-significant-aspect-of-the-bush-presidency-its/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Ever since Richard Nixon walloped George McGovern in the presidential election of 1972, political pundits have treated as a truism the proposition that liberals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/ever-since-richard-nixon-walloped-george-mcgovern-in-the-presidential/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [This trend of reporting process over substance is unfortunate, if omnipresent. Even worse is the media's inability - or unwillingness - to fact-check Republicans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/this-trend-of-reporting-process-over-substance-is-unfortunate-if/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Most of the provisions designed to fix what ails our health system don't kick in until 2014, which, one wishes administration officials had noticed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/most-of-the-provisions-designed-to-fix-what-ails-our-health-system/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Whether one agrees or disagrees with the tactics of the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's easy to understand the inspiration for its anger as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/whether-one-agrees-or-disagrees-with-the-tactics-of-the-occupy-wall/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [America's great newspapers have staffs that range from 50 percent to 70 percent of what they were just a few years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/america-s-great-newspapers-have-staffs-that-range-from-50-percent-to/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Trends in circulation and advertising - the rise of the Internet, which has made the daily newspaper look slow and unresponsive; the advent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/trends-in-circulation-and-advertising-the-rise-of-the-internet-which/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Warren Buffett pays taxes on a smaller percentage of his billions in income than his cleaning lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/warren-buffett-pays-taxes-on-a-smaller-percentage-of-his-billions-in/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [The myth of the liberal media empowers conservatives to control debate in the United States to the point where liberals cannot even hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/the-myth-of-the-liberal-media-empowers-conservatives-to-control/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [While history never repeats itself, political patterns do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/while-history-never-repeats-itself-political-patterns-do/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Face it, the system is rigged, and it's rigged against us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/face-it-the-system-is-rigged-and-it-s-rigged-against-us/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [The war on terrorism was a bait and switch operation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/the-war-on-terrorism-was-a-bait-and-switch-operation/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [If bloggers are to improve our public discourse - helping busy and usually uninformed people make sense of the world - it is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/if-bloggers-are-to-improve-our-public-discourse-helping-busy-and/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [Americans continue to suffer from a notoriously short attention span. They get mad as hell with reasonable frequency, but quickly return to their families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/americans-continue-to-suffer-from-a-notoriously-short-attention-span/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) > [By the accusation of liberal bias ... the institutions that conservatives revere - the military, corporate America, organized religion, and the powerful conservative groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/by-the-accusation-of-liberal-bias-the-institutions-that-conservatives/) [Eric Alterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) [Explore all 64 Eric Alterman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) [Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to facing up to the Republicans' threat to force a double-dip recession if they didn't get their millionaires' tax cut, they still amounted to nothing. And therein lies our fundamental problem.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Alterman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-offering-ideas-than-there-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cutting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-offering-ideas-than-there-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/eric-alterman-10672_cutting_there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-o_2829156.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are more people at Obama's table offering ideas than there were five years ago, but when it came to…” — Eric Alterman", "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": "Eric Alterman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-alterman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are more people at Obama's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-offering-ideas-than-there-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-alterman/there-are-more-people-at-obama-s-table-offering-ideas-than-there-were/#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 } } ] } ```