--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If ever there comes a time when everyone…" description: "\"If ever there comes a time when everyone you vote for wins and they do everything you think they should do, there will still be a gap between what is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/william-j-clinton-302_gaps_if-ever-there-comes-a-time-when-everyone_1303591.jpg" --- # If ever there comes a time when everyone you vote for wins… ![“If ever there comes a time when everyone you vote for wins and they do everything you think they should do, there will still be a gap between what is and what ought to be.” quote by William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/william-j-clinton-302_gaps_if-ever-there-comes-a-time-when-everyone_1303591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/william-j-clinton-302_gaps_if-ever-there-comes-a-time-when-everyone_1303591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a94/william-j-clinton-302_gaps_if-ever-there-comes-a-time-when-everyone_1303591.jpg) > “If ever there comes a time when everyone you vote for wins and they do everything you think they should do, there will still be a gap between what is and what ought to be.” [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even if elected officials meet expectations, a discrepancy remains between reality and ideal ideals. **In simple terms:** Even perfect leaders can't fully match ideals. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and strive for continuous improvement. Themes politics idealism reality Mood cautious thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - civic engagement - activism - leadership - accountability Key Concepts governance public expectation Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens hold leaders accountable while recognizing limits? - What role does compromise play in governance? A Different Perspective Ideal expectations may be unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [There comes a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/there-comes-a-time/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [If Trump wins, I think the whole thing is going to blow up, and we're going to start over, and that's always a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-weir/if-trump-wins-i-think-the-whole-thing-is-going-to-blow-up-and-we-re/) [Bob Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-weir/) > [Everyone I vote for never wins. Welcome to America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/everyone-i-vote-for-never-wins-welcome-to-america/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [When 3 million more people vote for a presidential candidate, but that candidate still loses, the system sucks. Period. It's broken. I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/when-3-million-more-people-vote-for-a-presidential-candidate-but-that/) [Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/) > [I think the gap between the rich and the poor is a dangerous phenomenon in Russia and it needs the attention of the state.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/i-think-the-gap-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-is-a-dangerous/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [I think the gap between Israelis and Palestinians is too deep to be bridged in our generation. Politically, we are in favor of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/i-think-the-gap-between-israelis-and-palestinians-is-too-deep-to-be/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [“Jobs described Mike Markkula's maxim that a good company must "impute"- it must convey its values and importance in everything it does, from packaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-described-mike-markkula-s-maxim-that-a-good-company-must-impute/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Even with flexible time off to vote, it's still difficult for our people to juggle work, polls, childcare, and other responsibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-edelman/even-with-flexible-time-off-to-vote-it-s-still-difficult-for-our/) [Richard Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-edelman/) > [I say from time to time that the vote is precious. It's almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool or instrument that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-say-from-time-to-time-that-the-vote-is-precious-it-s-almost-sacred/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [“There has never been a more important time to vote for the Green Party!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/there-has-never-been-a-more-important-time-to-vote-for-the-green-party/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I must sojourn once to the ballot-box before I die. 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It was the right thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-take-full-responsability-for-what-we-did-it-was-the-right-thing-to/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Even as people take pride in their national independence, we know we are becoming more and more interdependent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/even-as-people-take-pride-in-their-national-independence-we-know-we/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [To build a twenty-first-century economy, America must revive a nineteenth-century habit--investing in the common, national economic resources that enable every person and every firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/to-build-a-twenty-first-century-economy-america-must-revive-a/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [One of the things that I think we have learned is that we should all be very careful about making predictions about the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/one-of-the-things-that-i-think-we-have-learned-is-that-we-should-all/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Only astrophysicists new about the Internet 20 years ago. Today my cat has a website.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/only-astrophysicists-new-about-the-internet-20-years-ago-today-my-cat/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [You know, I've always been really interested in this stuff, and I'm going to read this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/you-know-i-ve-always-been-really-interested-in-this-stuff-and-i-m/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [If you believe in making change from the bottom up, if you believe the measure of change is how many people's lives are better,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/if-you-believe-in-making-change-from-the-bottom-up-if-you-believe-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [ We \[Democrats\] have got to be strong. When we look weak in a time where people feel insecure, we lose. when people feel uncertain,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-democrats-have-got-to-be-strong-when-we-look-weak-in-a-time-where/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [It's the economy, stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/it-s-the-economy-stupid/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The Republicans could mess up a two car parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-republicans-could-mess-up-a-two-car-parade/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [We're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-re-all-in-this-together-is-a-far-better-philosophy-than-you-re-on/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) [Explore all 712 William J. Clinton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More Gaps quotes > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [No matter how strong the storm, how hard the rain and how vicious the wind there is always a gap in the clouds for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-greenhalgh/no-matter-how-strong-the-storm-how-hard-the-rain-and-how-vicious-the/) Ben Greenhalgh > [I honestly don't like Photoshop. I think when people Photoshop things, all of a sudden you're like, 'That's not even me anymore.' It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-aldridge/i-honestly-don-t-like-photoshop-i-think-when-people-photoshop-things/) [Lily Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-aldridge/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [To be creative means to connect. 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It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Whether you face reality head on and make a life change, or deny your responsibility, you've made a choice. The way I see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-phillips/whether-you-face-reality-head-on-and-make-a-life-change-or-deny-your/) [Shawn Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-phillips/) > [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. 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