Politics & Power Quote by John W. Snow

Snow’s line is less a compliment than a carefully engineered civics sermon, designed to make deference sound like common sense. By repeating “they look to the leaders to lead,” he turns a contested political claim into a tautology: if you’re a leader, leadership is what you do; if you’re skeptical, you’re implicitly outside the “American people” he invokes. It’s a rhetorical move that borrows legitimacy from the public while quietly instructing the public on how to behave.

The phrase “big problems” does crucial work because it’s both grand and vague. It signals seriousness without naming the problem, the costs, or the tradeoffs. That vagueness is strategic: it keeps the audience focused on posture (taking things on) rather than policy (what’s being taken on, who pays, who benefits). Snow, an economist and Bush-era Treasury figure, is speaking from a world where confidence and continuity are policy instruments. In moments of economic uncertainty or unpopular choices, the administration needs a narrative that converts risk into resolve.

“Deserves a lot of credit” is the soft landing: it pre-emptively frames criticism as unfair or unpatriotic. Credit isn’t awarded for outcomes here; it’s awarded for willingness. The subtext is managerial: trust the executive, because management itself is a public good. Snow isn’t arguing that a specific plan is working. He’s arguing that the act of governing boldly should be applauded, which is a subtle way to lower the burden of proof when results are still pending - or when the politics are getting rough.