--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our great presidents have been stewards…" description: "\"Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.\" — Shelby Steele" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png" --- # Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly… ![“Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.” quote by Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png) > “Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.” [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective leaders act as caretakers of the nation, aligning their vision with the collective interests of all citizens. **In simple terms:** Great presidents serve the whole country. Key Takeaway Leadership is stewardship of national unity. Themes politics leadership national identity public service Mood inspirational patriotic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - a president addressing bipartisan concerns - a local mayor uniting diverse neighborhoods Key Concepts civic responsibility Practical Applications - promote inclusive policy dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to identify with an entire nation? - Can a leader truly represent all viewpoints? A Different Perspective Idealizes consensus; real politics often involve competing interests and trade‑offs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Great presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-presidents/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidents/) ## Related quotes > [The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. Thats the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-presidency-is-not-merely-an-administrative-office-thats-the-least/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Some of the presidents were great and some of them weren't. I can say that, because I wasn't one of the great presidents, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/some-of-the-presidents-were-great-and-some-of-them-weren-t-i-can-say/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Great presidents, and even those not so great, never complained about the hands they were dealt. Just the opposite. They assumed they were in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/great-presidents-and-even-those-not-so-great-never-complained-about/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Great presidents don't just fight good fights - they win them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/great-presidents-don-t-just-fight-good-fights-they-win-them/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Great presidents take stands, and they fight off these people who really are so far to the right. I don't want to call them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/great-presidents-take-stands-and-they-fight-off-these-people-who/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [There will be great presidents again but there will never be another Camelot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/there-will-be-great-presidents-again-but-there-will-never-be-another/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [I think that the great presidents have always been a little more clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bradley/i-think-that-the-great-presidents-have-always-been-a-little-more/) [Bill Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bradley/) > [I believe that Bill Clinton will be remembered as one of our nation's great Presidents, and Senator Clinton as one of our nation's great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-andrew/i-believe-that-bill-clinton-will-be-remembered-as-one-of-our-nation-s/) [Joe Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-andrew/) > [The great presidents are people who watch out for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-great-presidents-are-people-who-watch-out-for-others/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [Liberty in the United States will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/liberty-in-the-united-states-will-never-be-reestablished-so-long-as/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [There are a lot of women that I think are very powerful and would be great presidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/there-are-a-lot-of-women-that-i-think-are-very-powerful-and-would-be/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-american-by-nature-is-optimistic-he-is-experimental-an-inventor/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I don't pick my presidents because they were great presidents. I'm not much interested in ranking presidents and who is the best and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-don-t-pick-my-presidents-because-they-were-great-presidents-i-m-not/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [You can't fool all of the people all of the time. But it isn't necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/you-can-t-fool-all-of-the-people-all-of-the-time-but-it-isn-t/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself-and-possibly-teh-bogey/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) ## More by Shelby Steele > [When blacks become humanly visible, when their true beliefs are known, their mask shatters and their symbiotic bond with whites is broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/when-blacks-become-humanly-visible-when-their-true-beliefs-are-known/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [I alienated myself from the academic world almost entirely because it's a left-wing world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/i-alienated-myself-from-the-academic-world-almost-entirely-because-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Freedom is just freedom. It is a condition, not an agent of change. It does not develop or uplift those who win it. Freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/freedom-is-just-freedom-it-is-a-condition-not-an-agent-of-change-it/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [In Vietnam, America fought one whose communism was driven by an underlying nationalism, the desire to live free of the West. Whatever one may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/in-vietnam-america-fought-one-whose-communism-was-driven-by-an/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [No doubt Israel and America have made mistakes in the Middle East. Certainly, Israel was born at the price of considerable dislocation and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/no-doubt-israel-and-america-have-made-mistakes-in-the-middle-east/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [And if you want to make many of our black leaders angry, just tell them that racism is not the number problem that black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/and-if-you-want-to-make-many-of-our-black-leaders-angry-just-tell/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Thomas Sowell, among many others, has articulated the power of individual responsibility as an antidote to black poverty for over 40 years. Black thinkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/thomas-sowell-among-many-others-has-articulated-the-power-of/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton cannot write a timeless letter to us from a Birmingham jail or walk, as John Lewis did in 1965,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/jesse-jackson-and-al-sharpton-cannot-write-a-timeless-letter-to-us/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [My father bought three ramshackle houses, rebuilt them, rented them out, kept clawing his way up the ladder. A man with a third grade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/my-father-bought-three-ramshackle-houses-rebuilt-them-rented-them-out/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/whatever-i-m-doing-i-try-to-write-well-i-try-to-give-the-reader-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [We have laws on the books. If somebody's discriminating against you, I strongly advocate suing them. That's the most effective thing you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/we-have-laws-on-the-books-if-somebody-s-discriminating-against-you-i/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [The first thing I ever heard about Barack Obama was that he had a white mother and a black father. Interestingly, the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/the-first-thing-i-ever-heard-about-barack-obama-was-that-he-had-a/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Racism is endemic to the human condition, just as stupidity is. We will always have to be on guard against it. But now it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/racism-is-endemic-to-the-human-condition-just-as-stupidity-is-we-will/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Opportunity follows struggle. It follows effort. It follows hard work. It doesn't come before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/opportunity-follows-struggle-it-follows-effort-it-follows-hard-work/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) [Explore all 132 Shelby Steele quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shelby Steele" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/shelby-steele-3370_america_our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards_102779.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our great presidents have been stewards, men who broadly identified with the whole of America.” — Shelby Steele", "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": "Shelby Steele", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our great presidents have been stewards,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/our-great-presidents-have-been-stewards-men-who-broadly-identified/#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 } } ] } ```