---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not giving the president a blank…"
description: "\"I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.\" — Jim McDermott"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png"
---

#  I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.

![“I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.” quote by Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png)

> “I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.”

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

## About This Quote

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

Rejects unconditional financial support for the president, demanding accountability.

**In simple terms:** No blind funding for leaders.

Key Takeaway

Demand transparency before giving money.

Themes

politics accountability budget leadership ethics

Mood

critical assertive

Type

political advocacy

When to use this quote

- government spending
- campaign finance
- public trust
- budget allocation

Key Concepts

public policy fiscal responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What criteria should guide public funding?
- How can citizens ensure leaders are answerable?

A Different Perspective

Political realities may require compromise.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank check](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-check/) [Check](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/check/) [Check Period](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/check-period-2067482/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-president-657979/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/)

## Related quotes

> [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/)

[Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/)

> [My life is a blank check before God... No strings attached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/my-life-is-a-blank-check-before-god-no-strings-attached/)

[David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/)

> [I was out at the HBO party, these are liberals, I imagine, and a lot of people came up to me and said, "Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-was-out-at-the-hbo-party-these-are-liberals-i-imagine-and-a-lot-of/)

[Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/)

> [Karma is a blank check... So, you better check the amount !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neto-vergara-crivelli/karma-is-a-blank-check-so-you-better-check-the-amount/)

[Neto Vergara Crivelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neto-vergara-crivelli/)

> [If you just give somebody a blank check without any deliverables associated with that, you're not going to get the improvements that you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-stapleton/if-you-just-give-somebody-a-blank-check-without-any-deliverables/)

[Walker Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-stapleton/)

> [Well, no American wants to in any way hurt our capabilities to national defense, but that doesn't mean an unlimited amount of money, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/well-no-american-wants-to-in-any-way-hurt-our-capabilities-to/)

[Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/)

> [I am critical of modernity giving science and technology a blank check as if it were the fountain of all truth. That is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-am-critical-of-modernity-giving-science-and-technology-a-blank/)

[Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/)

> [Than a big blank check to be your lover or a gulf stream jet to fly you door to door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-shop-boys/than-a-big-blank-check-to-be-your-lover-or-a-gulf-stream-jet-to-fly/)

[Pet Shop Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-shop-boys/)

> [Sometimes I feel like a 16-year-old who's got a blank check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-bilzerian/sometimes-i-feel-like-a-16-year-old-who-s-got-a-blank-check/)

[Dan Bilzerian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-bilzerian/)

> [White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-like-an-invisible-weightless-knapsack-of-special/)

[Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/)

> [I don't like people who speak or think in terms of gaining anybody's confidence. If one's actions are honest, one does not need the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-don-t-like-people-who-speak-or-think-in-terms-of-gaining-anybody-s/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Even in dialogue, your own style rules your selection. Do not give yourself a blank check of this kind: 'I'll merely reproduce what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/even-in-dialogue-your-own-style-rules-your-selection-do-not-give/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [Judge not, that ye be not judge"... is an abdication of moral responsibility: it is a moral blank check one gives to others in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/judge-not-that-ye-be-not-judge-is-an-abdication-of-moral/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [If you hate the war, that’s fine. But you should still support the troops. They don’t get to pick where they’re deployed. They just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/if-you-hate-the-war-that-s-fine-but-you-should-still-support-the/)

[Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/)

> [“Every GI signs a blank check, payable to the United States, drawn in an amount up to and including his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-e-nolly/every-gi-signs-a-blank-check-payable-to-the-united-states-drawn-in-an/)

[G.E. Nolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-e-nolly/)

## More by Jim McDermott

> [I have stood on the front lines of the health care system as a doctor, patient and concerned parent. Those experiences have served as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-have-stood-on-the-front-lines-of-the-health-care-system-as-a-doctor/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [But beyond the hysteria of phantom death panels, where is the abomination? Show me the provisions that will hurt consumers, because if you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/but-beyond-the-hysteria-of-phantom-death-panels-where-is-the/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [I have stood on the front lines of the health care system as a doctor, patient and concerned parent. Those experiences have served as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-have-stood-on-the-front-lines-of-the-health-care-system-as-a-doctor-2/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [You can make people do anything if they're afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/you-can-make-people-do-anything-if-they-re-afraid/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [I think it's a trial balloon to see what happens, and I'm not impressed with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-think-it-s-a-trial-balloon-to-see-what-happens-and-i-m-not/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [There's nothing wrong with the free-enterprise system. But it has to have some compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-the-free-enterprise-system-but-it-has-to/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [I'm old enough to remember John Kennedy sending a few advisers into Vietnam. I'm very worried we'll get in and we'll get mired down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-m-old-enough-to-remember-john-kennedy-sending-a-few-advisers-into/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

> [We pretended there was no problem with Agent Orange after Vietnam and later the Pentagon recanted, after untold suffering by veterans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/we-pretended-there-was-no-problem-with-agent-orange-after-vietnam-and/)

[Jim McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

[Explore all 9 Jim McDermott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/)

## More Blank quotes

> [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/)

[Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/)

> [But that quickly faded, and he frowned. "You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?" Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/but-that-quickly-faded-and-he-frowned-you-re-bleeding-he-said-what/)

[Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/)

> [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“When I came back, they gave me blank looks. Some said, 'I don't think I've seen you for days.' Some not even that. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-a-selimovi/when-i-came-back-they-gave-me-blank-looks-some-said-i-don-t-think-i/)

[Meša Selimović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-a-selimovi/)

> [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/)

[Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/)

> [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/)

[Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/)

> [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/)

[Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/)

> [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/)

[Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/)

> [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/)

[Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/)

> [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/)

[Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/)

> [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/)

[Emily Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-shanks/)

> [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/)

[Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/)

> [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/)

[P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/)

> [“There isn’t any way to be. I will meet you where you’ve gone. The cards are blank; the cards are empty there. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-notley/there-isn-t-any-way-to-be-i-will-meet-you-where-you-ve-gone-the-cards/)

[Alice Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-notley/)

> [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/)

[Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/)

[Browse all 832 Blank quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jim McDermott"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-check-period/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Blank"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-check-period/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdc/jim-mcdermott-44933_blank_i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-che_1805319.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'm not giving the president a blank check, period.” — Jim McDermott",
                "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": "Jim McDermott",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcdermott/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'm not giving the president a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-check-period/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcdermott/i-m-not-giving-the-president-a-blank-check-period/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
