Barack Obama quotes

“I found this national debt, doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office.”

— Barack Obama

“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.”

— Barack Obama

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

— Barack Obama

“I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying.”

— Barack Obama

“The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam.”

— Barack Obama

“I'm a Christian by choice.”

— Barack Obama

“In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world.”

— Barack Obama

“With patient and firm determination, I am going to press on for jobs. I'm going to press on for equality. I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I am going to press on.”

— Barack Obama

“We want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just my way or the highway.”

— Barack Obama

“I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

— Barack Obama

“We can't have special interests sitting shotgun. We gotta have middle class families up in front. We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back.”

— Barack Obama

“We all remember Abraham Lincoln as the leader who saved our Union. Founder of the Republican Party.”

— 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

“I'm a warrior for the middle class.”

— Barack Obama

“What Washington needs is adult supervision.”

— Barack Obama

“In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed an interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.”

— 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

“Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation - not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago.”

— Barack Obama

“Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.”

— Barack Obama

“We've protected thousands of people in Libya; we have not seen a single U.S. casualty; there's no risks of additional escalation. This operation is limited in time and in scope.”

— Barack Obama

“This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands.”

— Barack Obama

“We can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we're getting back to basics, and doing what America has always done best: We're making things again.”

— Barack Obama

“If everybody that voted in 2008 shows up in 2010, we will win this election. We will win this election.”

— Barack Obama

“What I believe is that marriage is between a man and a woman, but what I also believe is that we have an obligation to make sure that gays and lesbians have the rights of citizenship that afford them visitations to hospitals, that allow them to be, to transfer property between partners, to make certain that they're not discriminated on the job.”

— Barack Obama

“There is probably a perverse pride in my administration... that we were going to do the right thing, even if short-term it was unpopular. And I think anybody who's occupied this office has to remember that success is determined by an intersection in policy and politics and that you can't be neglecting of marketing and P.R. and public opinion.”

— Barack Obama

“There's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America.”

— Barack Obama

“Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we're hardwired not to always think clearly when we're scared. And the country's scared.”

— Barack Obama

“The day I'm inaugurated, this country looks at itself differently and the world looks at America differently. If you believe that we've got to heal America and we've got to repair our standing in the world, then I think my supporters believe that I am a messenger who can deliver that message around the world in a way that no other candidate can do.”

— Barack Obama

“I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.”

— Barack Obama

“No one is pro-abortion.”

— Barack Obama