47 Famous Quotes by Barack Obama
Barack Obama is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He was the first African American to hold the office of President, and his election marked a historic milestone in American history. During his presidency, Obama oversaw a number of significant achievements, including the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Paris Climate Agreement. He is widely regarded as an inspiring and eloquent speaker, and his messages of hope and unity continue to resonate with people around the world. Obama's legacy as a leader who sought to bridge the divide between different communities and promote social justice and equality is an inspiration to all who seek to make a positive difference in the world. (Barack Obama Biography).
Barack Obama Famous Quotes
1. "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
2. "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America."
3. "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost."
4. "If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress."
5. "We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges."
6. "The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on."
7. "It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today."
8. "Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference."
9. "I'm a warrior for the middle class."
10. "My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too."
11. "In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power - including strong and principled diplomacy."
12. "Understand, our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. They've got a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law."
13. "I'm the president of the United States. I'm not the emperor of the United States."
14. "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them."
15. "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
16. "We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense."
17. "Our higher education system is one of the things that makes America exceptional. There's no place else that has the assets we do when it comes to higher education. People from all over the world aspire to come here and study here. And that is a good thing."
18. "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
19. "Now, as a nation, we don't promise equal outcomes, but we were founded on the idea everybody should have an equal opportunity to succeed. No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, you can make it. That's an essential promise of America. Where you start should not determine where you end up."
20. "I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody."
21. "We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent."
22. "The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable."
23. "No one is pro-abortion."
24. "You know, my faith is one that admits some doubt."
25. "We want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just my way or the highway."
26. "It's not enough to train today's workforce. We also have to prepare tomorrow's workforce by guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education."
27. "To avoid being mistaken for a sellout, I chose my friends carefully. The more politically active black students. The foreign students. The Chicanos. The Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk-rock performance poets."
28. "Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues."
29. "It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label."
30. "I've got a pen and I've got a phone - and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward."
31. "I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together: black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young, old; gay, straight; men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance under the same proud flag to this big, bold country that we love. That's what I see. That's the America I know!"
32. "In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?"
33. "Let us remember we are all part of one American family. We are united in common values, and that includes belief in equality under the law, basic respect for public order, and the right of peaceful protest."
34. "We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential."
35. "A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognize it. They say, 'Huh. It works. It makes sense.'"
36. "My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington."
37. "What Washington needs is adult supervision."
38. "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help... Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
39. "We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated."
40. "Even when folks are hitting you over the head, you can't stop marching. Even when they're turning the hoses on you, you can't stop."
41. "The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam."
42. "Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes,' he said, his voice rising as applause and cheers mounted. 'Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'. We are going to press on. We have work to do."
43. "It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent."
44. "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
45. "I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
46. "We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn't a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith."
47. "So long as I'm Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you've served us - because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home."
― Barack Obama Quotes
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Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
