---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How, then, has Obama been saddled with an…"
description: "\"How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The answer is that journalists are not accustomed to..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png"
---

#  How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being…

![“How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The answer is that journalists are not accustomed to covering a candidate who moves crowds the way Obama does, who uses speech cadences and rhythm like Martin Luther King Jr. without making his talk…” quote by Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png)

> “How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The answer is that journalists are not accustomed to covering a candidate who moves crowds the way Obama does, who uses speech cadences and rhythm like Martin Luther King Jr. without making his talk explicitly about race. Sen. Clinton already owned the policy-wonk slot, so by default, Obama was cast as the poetic one.”

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Obama’s charismatic style led journalists to view him as poetic rather than detailed.

**In simple terms:** Obama’s speech made him seem inspirational, not detailed.

Key Takeaway

Recognize media framing based on style.

Themes

media politics communication

Mood

critical insightful

Type

journalistic analytical

When to use this quote

- campaign coverage
- news reporting
- public speaking

Key Concepts

framing public perception

Questions to Reflect On

- How does style influence voter perception?
- What are the risks of emphasizing charisma over policy?

A Different Perspective

Focus on style may overlook substantive policy details.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cadence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cadence/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/)

## Related quotes

> [I love a serious preacher, who speaks for my sake and not for his own; who seeks my salvation, and not his own vain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/i-love-a-serious-preacher-who-speaks-for-my-sake-and-not-for-his-own/)

[Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/)

> [I do what I do. Barack Obama does what politicians do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-wright/i-do-what-i-do-barack-obama-does-what-politicians-do/)

[Jeremiah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-wright/)

> [Look, President Clinton had opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. President Bush had opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. I know how to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/look-president-clinton-had-opportunities-to-get-osama-bin-laden/)

[John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/)

> [Republicans will criticize whatever President Obama does because that is what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gutierrez/republicans-will-criticize-whatever-president-obama-does-because-that/)

[Luis Gutierrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gutierrez/)

> [I feel like I owe it to the readers to try to pull back the veil and give them the honest version of what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-dowd/i-feel-like-i-owe-it-to-the-readers-to-try-to-pull-back-the-veil-and/)

[Maureen Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-dowd/)

> [I do believe that the Barack Obama administration has reached a new low by using the instruments of the state against its political adversaries.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/i-do-believe-that-the-barack-obama-administration-has-reached-a-new/)

[Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/)

> [We need to redefine "smart" when talking about things Obama does, 'cause in my world he doesn't do smart things. He doesn't do intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-need-to-redefine-smart-when-talking-about-things-obama-does-cause/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> ['Worshipping in private,' as Obama does, comes off as just another form of annoying elitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-brown/worshipping-in-private-as-obama-does-comes-off-as-just-another-form/)

[Tina Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-brown/)

> [ I think that \[Barack Obama\] does say something that's - that is telling on that score, when he talks about the \[George W.\] Bush… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-suskind/i-think-that-barack-obama-does-say-something-that-s-that-is-telling/)

[Ron Suskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-suskind/)

> [“what we’ve seen so far, we can expect this new project to be quietly dropped as well after a billion or so has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-g-brown/what-we-ve-seen-so-far-we-can-expect-this-new-project-to-be-quietly/)

[Floyd G Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-g-brown/)

> [ This man \[Barack Obama\] does not have the interests of our country. That's not his agenda. His agenda is to bring us down to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/this-man-barack-obama-does-not-have-the-interests-of-our-country-that/)

[Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/)

> [Obama does look good, but he could look better. The most important thing for politicians is to keep their clothes really simple and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-browne/obama-does-look-good-but-he-could-look-better-the-most-important/)

[Thom Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-browne/)

> [Obama does not believe in individual upward mobility. He would penalize it, tax it, regulate it, inveigh against it and disincentivize it. We will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/obama-does-not-believe-in-individual-upward-mobility-he-would/)

[Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/)

> [ What he \[Barack Obama\] does to change the world - that's what's important. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/what-he-barack-obama-does-to-change-the-world-that-s-what-s-important/)

[Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/)

> [Obama does not need to worry as much as past Democratic presidents about being labeled soft on national security - not after giving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/obama-does-not-need-to-worry-as-much-as-past-democratic-presidents/)

[Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/)

## More by Howard Kurtz

> [It's a brave new world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/it-s-a-brave-new-world/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

> [In this age of Twitter and Snark every misstep gets posted online in twelve seconds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/in-this-age-of-twitter-and-snark-every-misstep-gets-posted-online-in/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

> [You know, I have never seen the level of anger and frustration and resentment and even disgust among millions of Americans toward the media.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/you-know-i-have-never-seen-the-level-of-anger-and-frustration-and/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

> [Journalism seems to have recovered its reason for being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/journalism-seems-to-have-recovered-its-reason-for-being/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

> [There are some Trump detractors who feel like it's the media's job to stop Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/there-are-some-trump-detractors-who-feel-like-it-s-the-media-s-job-to/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

> [The dismissive notion that conservatives leak to outlets on the right for ideological reasons ignores the fact that liberals often do the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/the-dismissive-notion-that-conservatives-leak-to-outlets-on-the-right/)

[Howard Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

[Explore all 7 Howard Kurtz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/)

## More Accustomed quotes

> [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/)

[R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/)

> [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [There are those that say, if you do the uncomfortable thing long enough, it will become comfortable. But we are really not encouragers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/there-are-those-that-say-if-you-do-the-uncomfortable-thing-long/)

[Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/)

> [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/)

[Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/)

> [Democracy is not being well served as we're accustomed to. There is less information, there's less investigation, there's less analysis, there's less accountability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-greenspon/democracy-is-not-being-well-served-as-we-re-accustomed-to-there-is/)

Edward Greenspon

> [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [I have been in relatively high-risk businesses all of my adult life. Few of the others, however, had the possibility of direct gains in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-have-been-in-relatively-high-risk-businesses-all-of-my-adult-life/)

[Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/)

> [We have become accustomed to living our life with joy amidst pain and challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/we-have-become-accustomed-to-living-our-life-with-joy-amidst-pain-and/)

[Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/)

> [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/)

[Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/)

> [If you're a Firefox user, you get accustomed to your history and the URL bar and finding things. That should be available on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-baker/if-you-re-a-firefox-user-you-get-accustomed-to-your-history-and-the/)

[Mitchell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-baker/)

> [It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound of ones voice, when forced to repeat a speech five or six times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/it-is-amazing-how-soon-one-becomes-accustomed-to-the-sound-of-ones/)

[J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/)

> [We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-too-much-accustomed-to-attribute-to-a-single-cause-that-which/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [Once you grow accustomed to being famous, you do not realize it, but you are never quite your humble, honest self. No matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corra-may-harris/once-you-grow-accustomed-to-being-famous-you-do-not-realize-it-but/)

[Corra May Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corra-may-harris/)

> [I love physical kinds of comedy and getting down and dirty and doing stunts. When I was growing up, I was always getting into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/i-love-physical-kinds-of-comedy-and-getting-down-and-dirty-and-doing/)

[Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/)

> [Books should confuse. Literature abhors the typical. Literature flows to the particular, the mundane, the greasiness of paper, the taste of warm beer, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/books-should-confuse-literature-abhors-the-typical-literature-flows/)

[Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/)

Browse all 543 Accustomed quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The answer is that journalists are not accustomed to covering a candidate who moves crowds the way Obama does, who uses speech cadences and rhythm like Martin Luther King Jr. without making his talk explicitly about race. Sen. Clinton already owned the policy-wonk slot, so by default, Obama was cast as the poetic one.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Howard Kurtz"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an-image-of-being-long-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accustomed"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an-image-of-being-long-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/211/howard-kurtz-51279_accustomed_how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an_1944002.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“How, then, has Obama been saddled with an image of being long on inspiration and short on details? The…” — Howard Kurtz",
                "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": "Howard Kurtz",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-kurtz/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "How, then, has Obama been saddled...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an-image-of-being-long-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-kurtz/how-then-has-obama-been-saddled-with-an-image-of-being-long-on/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
