Barack Obama: Trending quotes (page 31)

“There was no such thing as Al Qaeda in Iraq, until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.”

Barack Obama

Speech in Columbus, Ohio (27 February 2008)
2008

“As the Holy Koran tells us: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do today - to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.”

Barack Obama

2009, A New Beginning (June 2009)

God , Truth

“The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.”

Barack Obama

2008, A More Perfect Union (March 2008)

Love , Men , Children , People

“And this is probably a good place for me to end by just saying that the issue of climate change is a perfect example of why young people have to lead. Because old people, they've created a mess, and then they'll be gone. And then you -- (applause) -- you're the ones who have to deal with it. And also what happens is old people get set in their ways. So the older you get, the more likely you are to say, that's how it's always been so that's how I'm going to keep on doing it -- even if there's a better way to do things. Young people, they're asking, well, why do I have to do it that way? Let's try it this way. And that kind of willingness to accept challenges and try things in a new way, to not be stuck in the past, or to look towards the future, that's what all of you represent.”

Barack Obama

2014, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Town Hall Speech (November 2014)

People , Way , Change , Past

“From the Asia Pacific to Africa to the Americas, the United States and our armed forces will remain the greatest force for freedom and security and peace that the world has ever known. That is your legacy. That is what we have to protect, and that is what we have to defend.”

Barack Obama

2016, Disabled American Veterans Convention (August 2016)

World , Peace , Freedom

“We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.”

Barack Obama

2009, A New Beginning (June 2009)

Hostility , Religion

“Lincoln -- they used to talk about him almost as bad as they talk about me. So democracy has never been for the faint of heart.”

Barack Obama

Obama: I’m Just Like Lincoln http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/08/16/obama-i-m-just-lincoln (16 August 2011)
2011

Democracy , Heart

“So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the co-operation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

Barack Obama

2009, A New Beginning (June 2009)

People , Peace , Justice , Help

“And this is yet another reminder that the world must unite, we must be together, regardless of nationality, or race, or faith, in fighting against the scourge of terrorism. We can -- and will -- defeat those who threaten the safety and security of people all around the world.”

Barack Obama

2016, Remarks to the People of Cuba (March 2016)

People , World , Faith , Fight

“This morning at Flanders Field, I was reminded of how war between peoples sent a generation to their deaths in the trenches and gas of the First World War. And just two decades later, extreme nationalism plunged this continent into war once again -- with populations enslaved, and great cities reduced to rubble, and tens of millions slaughtered, including those lost in the Holocaust. It is in response to this tragic history that, in the aftermath of World War II, America joined with Europe to reject the darker forces of the past and build a new architecture of peace. Workers and engineers gave life to the Marshall Plan. Sentinels stood vigilant in a NATO Alliance that would become the strongest the world has ever known. And across the Atlantic, we embraced a shared vision of Europe -- a vision based on representative democracy, individual rights, and a belief that nations can meet the interests of their citizens through trade and open markets; a social safety net and respect for those of different faiths and backgrounds.”

Barack Obama

2014, Address to European Youth (March 2014)

Life , Death , War , People

“And that’s why we support societies that empower women -- because no country will reach its potential unless it draws on the talents of our wives and our mothers, and our sisters and our daughters.”

Barack Obama

2013, Cape Town University Address (June 2013)

Women , Support , Sister , Drawing

“So tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.”

Barack Obama

First address to Congress (24 February 2009)
2009

Education , School , Communication , Training

“These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings.”

Barack Obama

Ramadan Message http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-President-Barack-Obama-in-Ramadan-Message Washington, DC (21 August 2009)
2009

Justice

“If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history... open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran's nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11... win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens... you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that's what we did. That's what you did.”

Barack Obama

2017, Farewell Address (January 2017)

Marriage , People , Health , History

“Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations… I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher… We've got it all.”

Barack Obama

"Keeping Hope Alive" http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20061018/10, The Oprah Winfrey Show (18 October 2006)
2006

Christmas

“We have an alliance that was forged more than a half century ago, and strengthened by shared interests and democratic values. Our people share ties of family, ties of culture, and ties of commerce. Our troops have served to protect Japan’s shores, and our citizens have found opportunity and friendship in Japan’s cities and towns.”

Barack Obama

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

Friendship , People , Family

“Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”

Barack Obama

2013, Second Inaugural Address (January 2013)

History , Effort , Freedom , Light

“2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record. Now, one year doesn’t make a trend, but this does: 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.”

Barack Obama

2015, State of the Union Address (January 2015)

“I’m not a particularly ideological person. There’s things, some values I feel passionately about.”

Barack Obama

At Seattle fundraiser, 24 November 2013. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/obama-ideology-100328.html
2013

Feeling , Passion , Personality

“Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace.”

Barack Obama

2009, A New Beginning (June 2009)

Peace , Problem , Parting