--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With a chip on his shoulder larger than…" description: "\"With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/george-will-1177_agendas_with-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-larger-than_1017113.jpg" --- # With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of… ![“With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. Then his overreaching involved health care - expanding the entitlement state at the expense of economic growth. Now he seeks another surge of statism…” quote by George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/george-will-1177_agendas_with-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-larger-than_1017113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/george-will-1177_agendas_with-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-larger-than_1017113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/george-will-1177_agendas_with-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-larger-than_1017113.jpg) > “With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. Then his overreaching involved health care - expanding the entitlement state at the expense of economic growth. Now he seeks another surge of statism, enlarging the portion of gross domestic product grasped by government and dispensed by politics. The occasion is the misnamed "fiscal cliff," the proper name for which is: the Democratic Party's agenda.” [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## 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 criticizes perceived overreach of government expansion under Obama, framing it as a fiscal agenda rather than a genuine fiscal issue. **In simple terms:** It argues Obama’s policies increase government size and spending. Key Takeaway Question the true motives behind fiscal policies. Themes politics government economics Mood critical skeptical Type political analytical When to use this quote - budget debates - policy analysis - public discourse - election cycles Key Concepts fiscal policy state expansion political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - Is larger government always detrimental? - How do political narratives shape policy perception? A Different Perspective The perspective may overlook benefits of social programs and economic context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agendas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) [Barack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barack/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Chips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chips/) [Cliffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliffs/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-party/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-growth/) [Entitlement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entitlement/) [Expanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expanding/) [Expenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expenses/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Fiscal cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiscal-cliff/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gross/) [Gross domestic product](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gross-domestic-product/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Margins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margins/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Obama Approaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama-approaching-2244884/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Overreaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overreaching/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Party Agenda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party-agenda-1547874/) [Portions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portions/) [Products](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/products/) [Second Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-term/) [Shoulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoulders/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Statism Enlarging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statism-enlarging-2244885/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Victory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victory/) ## Related quotes > [Americans are overreaching; overreaching is the most admirable and most American of the many American excesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/americans-are-overreaching-overreaching-is-the-most-admirable-and/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I felt that what you should do is really take the best from each party's agenda and come to a solution somewhere above the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/i-felt-that-what-you-should-do-is-really-take-the-best-from-each/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [I have helped shape in the past the Democratic Party's agenda on innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/i-have-helped-shape-in-the-past-the-democratic-party-s-agenda-on/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [ I care deeply about Democratic party and our agenda and making sure that we can continue to build on President \[Barack\] Obama's legacy. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-care-deeply-about-democratic-party-and-our-agenda-and-making-sure/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [All the media is anymore is the Democrat Party's agenda, the Democrat Party's political desires and objectives presented as "the news" and also presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/all-the-media-is-anymore-is-the-democrat-party-s-agenda-the-democrat/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I will say that I'm not party political, I have no party agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/i-will-say-that-i-m-not-party-political-i-have-no-party-agenda/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [Our party's agenda is not only to form a government, but also to facilitate a political process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehbooba-mufti/our-party-s-agenda-is-not-only-to-form-a-government-but-also-to/) [Mehbooba Mufti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehbooba-mufti/) > [The human condition is what it is. We can see beauty and wonder in the world, but we also face imminent death and uncertainty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-adams/the-human-condition-is-what-it-is-we-can-see-beauty-and-wonder-in-the/) [Justin Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-adams/) > [The framers of our Constitution understood the dangers of unbridled government surveillance. They knew that democracy could flourish only in spaces free from government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-holtzman/the-framers-of-our-constitution-understood-the-dangers-of-unbridled/) [Elizabeth Holtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-holtzman/) > [Resisting overreaching by the federal government is appropriate and, yes, even patriotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russ-feingold/resisting-overreaching-by-the-federal-government-is-appropriate-and/) [Russ Feingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russ-feingold/) > [I think people who want to use genetic technologies to gain a competitive edge for their children are engaging in a kind of overreaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/i-think-people-who-want-to-use-genetic-technologies-to-gain-a/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [Knowledge is not wisdom: cleverness is not, not without awareness of our death, not without recalling just how brief our flare is. He who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/knowledge-is-not-wisdom-cleverness-is-not-not-without-awareness-of/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [My biggest fear is overreaching. I have been in situations where I felt swamped, and it's turned out really well; and I've had other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/my-biggest-fear-is-overreaching-i-have-been-in-situations-where-i/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [The pulpit only "teaches" to be honest; the market-place "trains" to overreaching and fraud; and teaching has not a tithe of the efficiency of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-pulpit-only-teaches-to-be-honest-the-market-place-trains-to/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If legislators come to believe that police power is an ever-present constitutional trump card they can play whenever it suits them, overreaching is inexorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-willett/if-legislators-come-to-believe-that-police-power-is-an-ever-present/) [Don Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-willett/) ## More by George Will > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [A politician's words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/a-politician-s-words-reveal-less-about-what-he-thinks-about-his/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [As has been said, standards are always out of date - that is why we call them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/as-has-been-said-standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-is-why-we-call/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. It is labeled a "nondairy" product. Fine: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/hart-is-still-like-that-little-tub-of-vaguely-milklike-gunk-that/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The realistic way to reduce the amount of money in politics is to reduce the amount of politics in money -- the importance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-realistic-way-to-reduce-the-amount-of-money-in-politics-is-to/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Greek philosophers considered sport a religious and civic-in a word, moral-undertaking. Sport, they said, is morally serious because mankind's noblest aim is the loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/greek-philosophers-considered-sport-a-religious-and-civic-in-a-word/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [When I'm in my car, I'm listening to books, audio books, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/when-i-m-in-my-car-i-m-listening-to-books-audio-books-always/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/just-as-the-common-law-derives-from-ancient-precedents-judges/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/football-combines-two-of-the-worst-things-in-american-life-it-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I've lived in Washington now for 44 years, and that's a lot of folly to witness up close. Whatever confidence and optimism I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/i-ve-lived-in-washington-now-for-44-years-and-that-s-a-lot-of-folly/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-business-of-america-is-not-business-neither-is-it-war-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Freedom is not only the absence of external restraints. It is also the absence of irresistible internal compulsions, unmanageable passion, and uncensorable highlights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/freedom-is-not-only-the-absence-of-external-restraints-it-is-also-the/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) [Explore all 279 George Will quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## More Agendas quotes > [There's a dishonest tyranny in the liberal/progressive/socialist agenda that comes down and says 'we are here because we care about you; we want what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/there-s-a-dishonest-tyranny-in-the-liberal-progressive-socialist/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/it-s-when-someone-has-an-agenda-of-their-own-for-the-record-that-it/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We have to consider who is going to be the best prime minister to take on a "one nation" agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/we-have-to-consider-who-is-going-to-be-the-best-prime-minister-to/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. Particularly when the person's agenda is to intimidate through abusing their position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/there-certainly-are-situations-where-i-feel-not-empowered-or/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Strong states and blocs of strong states are the only source of power and legitimacy capable of driving an international agenda in today's world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/strong-states-and-blocs-of-strong-states-are-the-only-source-of-power/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [He felt safe with her. He'd never been safe with another human being, not since he'd been taken as a child from his home.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/he-felt-safe-with-her-he-d-never-been-safe-with-another-human-being/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [I sometimes find that my family's emphasis on stories, characters, and art that appeals directly to children rather than over their heads to adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/i-sometimes-find-that-my-family-s-emphasis-on-stories-characters-and/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [The forces of immorality and Marxism and evil count on one thing: Us not showing up. And often, they're justified in that. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/the-forces-of-immorality-and-marxism-and-evil-count-on-one-thing-us/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) [Browse all 985 Agendas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With a chip on his shoulder larger than his margin of victory, Barack Obama is approaching his second term by replicating the mistake of his first. Then his overreaching involved health care - expanding the entitlement state at the expense of economic growth. Now he seeks another surge of statism, enlarging the portion of gross domestic product grasped by government and dispensed by politics. 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