--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obama is talking to voters as though he…" description: "\"Obama is talking to voters as though he is their boss, or their principal, or their father. He is not any of those things. He is their employee. And em..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-podhoretz-4983_boss_obama-is-talking-to-voters-as-though-he_1519242.jpg" --- # Obama is talking to voters as though he is their boss, or… ![“Obama is talking to voters as though he is their boss, or their principal, or their father. He is not any of those things. He is their employee. And employers don't like it when their employees yell at them - even if their employees have it right.” quote by John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-podhoretz-4983_boss_obama-is-talking-to-voters-as-though-he_1519242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-podhoretz-4983_boss_obama-is-talking-to-voters-as-though-he_1519242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/john-podhoretz-4983_boss_obama-is-talking-to-voters-as-though-he_1519242.jpg) > “Obama is talking to voters as though he is their boss, or their principal, or their father. He is not any of those things. He is their employee. And employers don't like it when their employees yell at them - even if their employees have it right.” [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politicians act as employees of the public, not as authoritarian figures; demanding respect from citizens is inappropriate. **In simple terms:** Politicians are public servants, not bosses. Key Takeaway Treat leaders as partners, not superiors. Themes politics leadership service Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical political When to use this quote - voter engagement - public policy discussions - community meetings Key Concepts social contract authority Questions to Reflect On - How should citizens express dissent respectfully? - What boundaries exist between leaders and constituents? A Different Perspective Public expectations can blur the employee‑employer relationship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boss/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Employees Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employees-right-746689/) [Employers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employers/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Like Employees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-employees-1588084/) [Obama Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama-talking-512806/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Principal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Voters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voters/) [Voters Boss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voters-boss-5610968/) [Yell Employees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yell-employees-5610969/) ## Related quotes > [Public employees should have the right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, just like all employees do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/public-employees-should-have-the-right-to-bargain-for-better-wages/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [Too many start up business fail simply because their owners continue to think and act like employees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leboeuf/too-many-start-up-business-fail-simply-because-their-owners-continue/) [Michael LeBoeuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leboeuf/) > [Racial relations in this country are plummeting. Racial strife is rising. All the while, Obama is out there talking about unity and bringing us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/racial-relations-in-this-country-are-plummeting-racial-strife-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Jesse Jackson also said he thought Barack Obama was talking down to black people by lecturing them on things like fatherhood and being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/jesse-jackson-also-said-he-thought-barack-obama-was-talking-down-to/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [ It's funny that and the same statement \[Barack Obama\] made when he's talking about Republicans and the Iranians, he's talking to Republicans through the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bolling/it-s-funny-that-and-the-same-statement-barack-obama-made-when-he-s/) [Eric Bolling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bolling/) > [Motivate them, train them, care about them and make winners out of them. We know if we treat our employees right, they'll treat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-bill-marriott-jr/motivate-them-train-them-care-about-them-and-make-winners-out-of-them-2/) [J. W. "Bill" Marriott, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-bill-marriott-jr/) > [Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-sinegal/paying-your-employees-well-is-not-only-the-right-thing-to-do-but-it/) [James Sinegal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-sinegal/) > [Your employees come first. And if you treat your employees right, guess what? Your customers come back, and that makes your shareholders happy. Start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/your-employees-come-first-and-if-you-treat-your-employees-right-guess/) [Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/) > [Masters (employers), provide your slaves (employees) with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/masters-employers-provide-your-slaves-employees-with-what-is-right/) [Sharlene05](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharlene05/) > [...how engaged are your employees right now? You may consider such a question impossible to answer, but the truth is, you need to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-craig/how-engaged-are-your-employees-right-now-you-may-consider-such-a/) [Jim Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-craig/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“For some employers, there is no more glorious work than work done for free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/for-some-employers-there-is-no-more-glorious-work-than-work-done-for/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by John Podhoretz > [The great mystery is why robots come off so well in science-fiction films when the human characters are often so astoundingly wooden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-great-mystery-is-why-robots-come-off-so-well-in-science-fiction/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [The exit polls suggest that after a relatively disappointing first term, Obama managed to reassemble almost all of his 2008 electorate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-exit-polls-suggest-that-after-a-relatively-disappointing-first/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [For Obama to save himself, he should be thinking about the example of an unlikely Republican predecessor: Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/for-obama-to-save-himself-he-should-be-thinking-about-the-example-of/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Your race and gender don't change, but you can choose to change your political affiliation at will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/your-race-and-gender-don-t-change-but-you-can-choose-to-change-your/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Imagine his delight after it 'leaked' that he will propose raising taxes on the wealthy by $320 billion over the next 10 years, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/imagine-his-delight-after-it-leaked-that-he-will-propose-raising/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Robots have a rich and storied history in movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/robots-have-a-rich-and-storied-history-in-movies/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Aside from being bad sportsmanship - Romney basically said Obama won by cheating - he was displaying the same obtuseness about the wants and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/aside-from-being-bad-sportsmanship-romney-basically-said-obama-won-by/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [There is a new conservative establishment in America, made up of those who claim to be the anti-establishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/there-is-a-new-conservative-establishment-in-america-made-up-of-those/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [As the Republican nominee, it was Romney's job to find a way to speak to some of those groups of voters and offer practical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/as-the-republican-nominee-it-was-romney-s-job-to-find-a-way-to-speak/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Memories of the last nine years have turned Ground Zero from a site of horror, to a reminder of grief, to an occasion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/memories-of-the-last-nine-years-have-turned-ground-zero-from-a-site/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Some candidates need to say provocative things that make noise to break through the media muffle and get themselves noticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/some-candidates-need-to-say-provocative-things-that-make-noise-to/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Let us now praise Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/let-us-now-praise-barack-obama/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [All non-incumbent campaigns promise hope and change, but Obama took the promise to a new level of absurdity. He suggested that a vote for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/all-non-incumbent-campaigns-promise-hope-and-change-but-obama-took/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [By the time Obama came into office, Washington had already agreed over a period of a few weeks to a $700 billion government infusion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/by-the-time-obama-came-into-office-washington-had-already-agreed-over/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [The defense of ObamaCare's constitutionality relies mainly on the truism that everyone is sure to get sick at some point in their lives, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-defense-of-obamacare-s-constitutionality-relies-mainly-on-the/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) [Explore all 104 John Podhoretz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) ## More Boss quotes > [ME AND SUMMER GUNNA BE MOVING IN TOGETHER HELL YA ITS GUNNA BE BOSS!!!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hawes/me-and-summer-gunna-be-moving-in-together-hell-ya-its-gunna-be-boss/) [Jon Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hawes/) > [“having sex with her boss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-henning/having-sex-with-her-boss/) [Stephen Henning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-henning/) > [Once in a while there's wisdom in recognizing that the Boss is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/once-in-a-while-there-s-wisdom-in-recognizing-that-the-boss-is/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [It is reassuring for people to feel they have a boss, someone who knows the answers and has charted the course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-cukor/it-is-reassuring-for-people-to-feel-they-have-a-boss-someone-who/) [George Cukor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-cukor/) > [I don't have a boss or PR person, so I'm accountable to no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/i-don-t-have-a-boss-or-pr-person-so-i-m-accountable-to-no-one/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [ I remember Robin \[Williams\] walked up to me after the last take and said, "Thanks boss! We nailed it!" That will probably be one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguire/i-remember-robin-williams-walked-up-to-me-after-the-last-take-and/) [Roberto Aguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguire/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Your manager is your boss and tells you what to do, what to wear and who to be, so our relationship changed. I loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcdonald/your-manager-is-your-boss-and-tells-you-what-to-do-what-to-wear-and/) [Jane McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcdonald/) > [When I get home, I'm not the boss like I am at work - I slip into a more feminine role. I take everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kerr/when-i-get-home-i-m-not-the-boss-like-i-am-at-work-i-slip-into-a-more/) [Miranda Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kerr/) > [I can't say it was challenging for me to shake the image of Frasier. I've been fortunate to have had a very interesting career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-grammer/i-can-t-say-it-was-challenging-for-me-to-shake-the-image-of-frasier-i/) [Kelsey Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-grammer/) > [You will be at your best forever, Even now you have good moments. Occasional glimpses of your heavenly self. When you change your baby's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/you-will-be-at-your-best-forever-even-now-you-have-good-moments/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Take lack of candor. ... I'm not talking about boldface lying, but a tendency to withhold information. That behavior is far more common, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/take-lack-of-candor-i-m-not-talking-about-boldface-lying-but-a/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [“Pizza as a reward at work, gotta love it. Personally, I'd rather have that than a raise. Give me a pizza, boss, and let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/pizza-as-a-reward-at-work-gotta-love-it-personally-i-d-rather-have/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Let me spell it out: with the psychotic boss, nothing you do is ever quite right. They set traps, asking you to do things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-me-spell-it-out-with-the-psychotic-boss-nothing-you-do-is-ever/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) [Browse all 1,833 Boss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obama is talking to voters as though he is their boss, or their principal, or their father. He is not any of those things. He is their employee. 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