Barack Obama Quotes - Quotations

Americans... still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do.
Barack Obama

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.
Barack Obama

My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
Barack Obama

As a nuclear power - as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon - the United States has a moral responsibility to act.
Barack Obama

In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
Barack Obama

We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.
Barack Obama


I don't care whether you're driving a hybrid or an SUV. If you're headed for a cliff, you have to change direction. That's what the American people called for in November, and that's what we intend to deliver.
Barack Obama


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.
Barack Obama

Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.
Barack Obama

We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen.
Barack Obama

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95 percent of all working families, because, in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.
Barack Obama

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.
Barack Obama


We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don`t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States.
Barack Obama


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.
Barack Obama


Community colleges play an important role in helping people transition between careers by providing the retooling they need to take on a new career.
Barack Obama


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.
Barack Obama

I can make a firm pledge, under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.
Barack Obama


I don't oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war.
Barack Obama


If you`re walking down the right path and you`re willing to keep walking, eventually you`ll make progress.
Barack Obama

I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.
Barack Obama


I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.
Barack Obama

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.
Barack Obama

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.
Barack Obama


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.'
Barack Obama


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.
Barack Obama

With the changing economy, no one has lifetime employment. But community colleges provide lifetime employability.
Barack Obama

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.
Barack Obama


Al Qaeda is still a threat. We cannot pretend somehow that because Barack Hussein Obama got elected as president, suddenly everything is going to be OK.
Barack Obama


My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.
Barack Obama

The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country - I know, because I am one of them.
Barack Obama