At a Philadelphia fundraiser, as quoted in "Obama: ‘If They Bring a Knife to the Fight, We Bring a Gun’" http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/06/14/obama-if-they-bring-a-knife-to-the-fight-we-bring-a-gun/, The Wall Street Journal (14 June 2008) 2008

“Partnerships like those remind us that the relationship between nations is not just defined by governments, but is defined by people -- especially the young people who will determine the future long after those of us who are currently in positions of power leave the stage.”

Barack Obama

2014, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Town Hall (April 2014)

“I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.
To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize — men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.
But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build — a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.”

Barack Obama

Remarks by the President on winning the Nobel Peace Prize" (9 October 2009)
2009

“The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra.”

Barack Obama

Speech at Solyndra, May 26, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy2xEAZhAuo 2010, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (April 2010)

“I am a firm believer that any legitimate government has to be based on rule of law and a recognition that all people are equal under the law.”

Barack Obama

Remarks by President Obama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma in Joint Press Conference at Aung San Suu Kyi Residence in Rangoon, Burma on November 14, 2014 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/14/remarks-president-obama-and-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-burma-joint-press-confe 2014

“And so you have to be practical in asking yourself how can you achieve the goals of equality and inclusion, but also recognize that the market system produces a lot of wealth and goods and services. And it also gives individuals freedom because they have initiative. And so you don't have to be rigid in saying it’s either this or that, you can say -- depending on the problem you're trying to solve, depending on the social issues that you're trying to address what works. And I think that what you’ll find is that the most successful societies, the most successful economies are ones that are rooted in a market-based system, but also recognize that a market does not work by itself. It has to have a social and moral and ethical and community basis, and there has to be inclusion. Otherwise it’s not stable. And it’s up to you -- whether you're in business or in academia or the nonprofit sector, whatever you're doing -- to create new forms that are adapted to the new conditions that we live in today.”

Barack Obama

2016, Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative Town Hall (March 2016)

“I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president -- with the possible exceptions of Johnson, FDR, and Lincoln -- just in terms of what we've gotten done in modern history.”

Barack Obama

An interview with 60 Minutes, December 20, 2011. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2011/12/16/60-minutes-broadcast-edits-out-laughable-obama-claim-4th-greatest-presi 2011

“I don’t think they’re gaining strength, what is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria, they’ll come in, they’ll leave. But you don’t see this systematic march by ISIL across the terrain.”

Barack Obama

ABC News, when George Stephanopoulos suggested ISIL is gaining strength, hours before Paris attacks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3jady8bIc (13 November 2015) 2015

“I am confident that Japan will recover and rebuild because of the strength and spirit of the Japanese people. Over the last few days, they’ve opened up their homes to one another. They’ve shared scarce resources of food and water. They’ve organized shelters, provided free medical care, and looked out for their most vulnerable citizens. One man put it simply: “It’s a Japanese thing. When hard times hit, we have to help each other.””

Barack Obama

2011, Address on the natural and nuclear energy disasters in Japan (March 2011)

“There were times where I was in the Oval Office and people would come to me with all kinds of political problems and policy problems and international problems, and my team would be getting discouraged and depressed, and I would say to them, I have to be optimistic, because the odds of somebody named Barack Obama being President of the United States were very low, and the fact that, in my lifetime, I have seen such enormous, positive change in the United States and around the world tells me that, although history does not travel in a straight line, it moves in the direction of justice and freedom and a better life for people. But we have to fight for it. We have to work for it.”

Barack Obama

2016, News Conference With Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany (November 2016)

“We can never say it enough. The United States and the United Kingdom enjoy a truly special relationship. We celebrate a common heritage. We cherish common values.... Above all, our alliance thrives because it advances our common interests.... When the United States and the United Kingdom stand together, our people—and people around the world—are more secure and they are more prosperous. In short, the United States has no closer ally and no stronger partner than Great Britain.”

Barack Obama

Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102011166?q=barack+obama&p=par Statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama at a joint press conference with Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom in July 2010 2010

“Ultimately, peace is just not about politics. It’s about attitudes; about a sense of empathy; about breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves in our own minds and our own hearts that don’t exist in any objective reality, but that we carry with us generation after generation.”

Barack Obama

Remarks by President Obama and Mrs. Obama in Town Hall with Youth of Northern Ireland, Belfast Waterfront, Belfast, Northern Ireland (17 June 2013) http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/17/remarks-president-obama-and-mrs-obama-town-hall-youth-northern-ireland 2013

“Let me just make this point, John…We're not campaigning anymore. The election's over.”

Barack Obama

Responding to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) at the healthcare summit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505919.html after McCain complained about the proposed healthcare bill (25 February 2010)] 2010

“"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy.”

Barack Obama

2008, A More Perfect Union (March 2008)

“[I]f anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we've made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it.”

Barack Obama

2017, Farewell Address (January 2017)