--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What can one man do even if he is the…" description: "\"What can one man do even if he is the president?\" — George Packer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png" --- # What can one man do even if he is the president? ![“What can one man do even if he is the president?” quote by George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png) > “What can one man do even if he is the president?” [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions the effectiveness of a single leader when systemic issues require collective action. **In simple terms:** One person can't fix everything alone. Key Takeaway Focus on collective solutions. Themes politics leadership systems Mood critical thoughtful Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - community organizing - activism Key Concepts power dynamics institutional change Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do within a system? - How can leaders empower others? A Different Perspective Individual agency still matters in certain contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Man President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-president-1092411/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-a-arthur/since-i-came-here-i-have-learned-that-chester-a-arthur-is-one-man-and/) [Chester A. Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-a-arthur/) > [It has been my honor to support and work with President Barack Obama, a man who has brought courage and character to the presidency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/it-has-been-my-honor-to-support-and-work-with-president-barack-obama/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [Harry Truman proves that old adage that any man can become President of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-thomas/harry-truman-proves-that-old-adage-that-any-man-can-become-president/) [Norman Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-thomas/) > [I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-kennedy/i-have-never-had-a-president-who-inspired-me-the-way-people-tell-me/) [Caroline Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-kennedy/) > [Many years ago, I concluded that a few hair shirts were part of the mental wardrobe of every man. The president differs from other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/many-years-ago-i-concluded-that-a-few-hair-shirts-were-part-of-the/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Irving Wallace wrote a bestselling novel, The Man, in the 1960s about a black man becoming president of the United States. We thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/irving-wallace-wrote-a-bestselling-novel-the-man-in-the-1960s-about-a/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-speak-to-everyone-in-the-same-way-whether-he-is-the-garbage-man-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Americans have not had a presidential choice since 1932. Roosevelt was our man; every president since Roosevelt has been our man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-wallace-rosenthal/americans-have-not-had-a-presidential-choice-since-1932-roosevelt-was/) [Harold Wallace Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-wallace-rosenthal/) > [There's a million white people better qualified than a black man to be president of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-newman/there-s-a-million-white-people-better-qualified-than-a-black-man-to/) [Randy Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-newman/) > [No man will ever be President of the United States who spells 'negro' with two gs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/no-man-will-ever-be-president-of-the-united-states-who-spells-negro/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [It may not be fair, but it's true that in politics - in TV broadcasting, in any public figure - people pay attention to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blankley/it-may-not-be-fair-but-it-s-true-that-in-politics-in-tv-broadcasting/) [Tony Blankley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blankley/) > [The idea that America elected a black man to be its president forty years after it declined to allow Martin Luther King Jr. to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/the-idea-that-america-elected-a-black-man-to-be-its-president-forty/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [A man I'm proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/a-man-i-m-proud-to-call-my-friend-a-man-who-will-be-the-next/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [I wonder: Would there be a black president if people hadn't already begun imagining, through film and television, that a black man is president?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-wonder-would-there-be-a-black-president-if-people-hadn-t-already/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [The election, and even the re-election, of a black man as president, in a country that is 87 percent non-black - a first in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-election-and-even-the-re-election-of-a-black-man-as-president-in/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) ## More by George Packer > [I don't think they need to be nice to reporters, but the White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-don-t-think-they-need-to-be-nice-to-reporters-but-the-white-house/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Afghanistan can't police its borders, and its neighbors give sanctuary and assistance to insurgents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/afghanistan-can-t-police-its-borders-and-its-neighbors-give-sanctuary/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Hillary Clinton's such a classic Democratic political figure and believes so much in institutions and in gradualism in the old way of reaching compromises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/hillary-clinton-s-such-a-classic-democratic-political-figure-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“In other words, Foxx represented what Sarah Palin (speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Greensboro three weeks before the election) called “the real America,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/in-other-words-foxx-represented-what-sarah-palin-speaking-at-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [America's vast population of working poor can only get so poor before even Walmart is out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/america-s-vast-population-of-working-poor-can-only-get-so-poor-before/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The Olympics are never just about sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-olympics-are-never-just-about-sports/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > ['The Assassins' Gate' is a very tightly controlled story of the ideas that led to the war and the consequences of those ideas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-assassins-gate-is-a-very-tightly-controlled-story-of-the-ideas/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Amazon's identity and goals are never clear and always fluid, which makes the company destabilizing and intimidating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/amazon-s-identity-and-goals-are-never-clear-and-always-fluid-which/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/ideology-knows-the-answer-before-the-question-has-been-asked/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Everything seems set up for success in digital journalism - money, eyeballs, software, brands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/everything-seems-set-up-for-success-in-digital-journalism-money/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans' care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/climate-change-joined-immigration-job-creation-food-safety-pilot/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Much of the international unease with the Sochi Games has focused on the threat of terrorism, Putin's domestic repressiveness, and the Russian campaign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/much-of-the-international-unease-with-the-sochi-games-has-focused-on/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I've been interested in American politics since I was eight. That was in 1968. It was an interesting year. I was a huge Eugene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-ve-been-interested-in-american-politics-since-i-was-eight-that-was/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [When I interviewed Paul Bremer in his office, he had almost no books on his shelves. He had a couple of management books, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/when-i-interviewed-paul-bremer-in-his-office-he-had-almost-no-books/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Explore all 144 George Packer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## More Even quotes > [Most of the time, I get around perfectly well on my bike and public transportation, even in spite of the Bay Area's almost comically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/most-of-the-time-i-get-around-perfectly-well-on-my-bike-and-public/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [If you're a top 10 guy you should pay a top 10 guy or even a top 5 guy what he deserves, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljamain-sterling/if-you-re-a-top-10-guy-you-should-pay-a-top-10-guy-or-even-a-top-5/) [Aljamain Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aljamain-sterling/) > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/) [Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/) > [Even after years of observing, a new picture of Uranus from Keck Observatory can stop me in my tracks and make me say, 'Wow!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-hammel/even-after-years-of-observing-a-new-picture-of-uranus-from-keck/) [Heidi Hammel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-hammel/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [I really can't live without my In-N-Out burgers. Honestly, I can't. Even when I'm doing the whole no-carb thing occasionally, I make an exception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-really-can-t-live-without-my-in-n-out-burgers-honestly-i-can-t-even/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [Like in nature, I like things which are based on a few simple principles, even though their manifestation can be very rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabiola-gianotti/like-in-nature-i-like-things-which-are-based-on-a-few-simple/) [Fabiola Gianotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabiola-gianotti/) > [You can't even tell, but a lot of the time your favourite rappers are wearing a bunch of fake jewellery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-mensa/you-can-t-even-tell-but-a-lot-of-the-time-your-favourite-rappers-are/) [Vic Mensa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-mensa/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 8,987 Even quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What can one man do even if he is the president?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Packer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-president/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Even" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-president/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/981/george-packer-2917_even_what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-pr_1971449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What can one man do even if he is the president?” — George Packer", "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": "George Packer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What can one man do even...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-president/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/what-can-one-man-do-even-if-he-is-the-president/#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 } } ] } ```