Barack obama quotes

The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person.

Greatness is never free; it must be earned.

Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency.

If you work hard. And are responsible. You should be rewarded.

And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you. And you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.

We are running out of time

Change is never easy, but always possible.

Every country has violent, hateful, or mentally unstable people. What's different is not every country is awash with easily accessible guns.

Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled.

We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we're going to suffer the consequences - together.

Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it.

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.

Don't shortchange the future, because of fear in the present.

Keep exploring. Keep dreaming. Keep asking why. Don’t settle for what you already know. Never stop believing in the power of your ideas, your imagination, your hard work to change the world.

Why can't I just eat my waffle?

We will finish the race.

Most people who serve in Washington have been trained either as lawyers or as political operatives--professions that tend to place a premium on winning arguments rather than solving problems.

My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government.

When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up.

I've said this before, and I know this raises questions in the minds of some evangelicals. I do not believe that my mother, who never formally embraced Christianity as far as I know ... I do not believe she went to hell.

When our interests and values are at stake, we have a responsibility to act.

Religious freedom doesn't mean you can force others to live by your own beliefs

Fear, uncertainty and discomfort are your compasses toward growth. If you run you stand a chance of losing, but if you don't run you've already lost.

I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.

Our resources may be finite, but our will is infinite, and I am confident that if we come together and summon that great American spirit once again, we will meet the challenges of our time and write the next great chapter in our American story.

Writing has been an important exercise to clarify what I believe, what I see, what I care about, what my deepest values are. The process of converting a jumble of thoughts into coherent sentences makes you ask tougher questions.

When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk.

Even as Ramadan holds profound meaning for the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, it is also a reminder to people of all faiths of our common humanity and the commitment to justice, equality, and compassion shared by all great faiths. In that spirit, I wish Muslims across America and around the world a blessed month, and I look forward to again hosting an iftar dinner here at the White House. Ramadan Kareem.

And above all, children need our unconditional love - whether they succeed or make mistakes; when life is easy and when life is tough.

You have the ability and gifts to do whatever you want". It is your turn now to change the world. Yes we can!

I think, the argument sometimes that I've had with folks who are much more interested in sort of race-specific programs is less an argument about what is practically achievable and sometimes maybe more an argument of "We want society to see what's happened, and internalize it, and answer it in demonstrable ways." And those impulses I very much understand.

You can't always come up with the optimal solution, but you can usually come up with a better solution.

It is this world, a world where cruise ships throw away more food in a day than most residents of Port-au-Prince see in a year, where white folks' greed runs a world in need, apartheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere...That's the world! On which hope sits!

I haven't been sorting through each and every aspect of this. Here's what I know: Hillary Clinton was an outstanding Secretary of State. She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy.' Mr. Wallace pressed further on the jeopardy angle, and Mr. Obama responded again: 'I continue to believe that she has not jeopardized America's national security. Now what I've also said is that - and she has acknowledged - that there's a carelessness, in terms of managing emails...'"

Don't just buy a new video game, make one. Don't just download the latest app, help design it. Don't just play on your phone, program it.

Did I recognize that there was anger or frustration in the American population? Of course I did. First of all, we had to fight back from the worst recession since the Great Depression, and I can guarantee you if your housing values have crashed and you've lost most of your pension and you've lost your job, you're going to be pretty angry.

This is something that I'm sure I'd have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher.

If you go out and make some things happen, you will fill the world with hope.

Life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story, and along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.

No religion is responsible for terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism.

Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.

Your voice can change the world.

We are not at war with Islam. We are at war with people who have perverted Islam.

If somebody is different from you, that's not something you criticize, that's something that you appreciate.

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

On this Thanksgiving, as we spend time with our family and friends, let's all reflect on what we're thankful for in our own lives. And let's remember those who cannot be with their loved ones because they're serving overseas. But let's also do our part to help those who have no place to go for a meal. I encourage all Americans to do what they can to help those in need-because the best way to show our gratitude for what we have is by doing our part for those who have less.

We must carry forward the work of the women who came before us and ensure out daughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements and no remaining ceilings to shatter.

Our relationship with the European Union, which has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond.

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.

Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.

The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation.

We can give our intelligence and law enforcement community the powers they need to track down and take out terrorists without undermining our commitment to the rule of law, or our basic rights and liberties.

Never give up on your dreams.

Now let's make two things clear: ISIL is not 'Islamic.' No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria's civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

I think that the risk to all the progress we've made was at stake in the election because not just the president-elect but a lot of members of Congress, including now the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader, have said that their principal agenda was to undo a lot of this progress. But as I've been talking about over the last several days when it comes to health care, the gains that we've made are there. Twenty million people have health insurance that didn't have it before. The uninsured rate is the lowest it's ever been.

Every life must be given the chance to realize its full potential - that every life matters.

We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.

One of the challenges of a democratic government is making sure that even in the midst of emergencies and passions, we make sure that rule of law and the basic precepts of justice and liberty prevail.

Each of us deserves the freedom to pursue our own version of happiness. No one deserves to be bullied.

The thing I know for sure is that at the end of my life, what I'm going to remember is the love I felt for my family and my friends, and whatever good I did for other people.

For we have always understood that when times change, so must we, that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges, that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.

It is moments like these that force us to try harder, and dig deeper, and to discover gifts we never knew we had - to find the greatness that lies within each of us.

Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism - it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

For the United States of America, the best is yet to come.

One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.

The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.

While we breathe, we will hope.

Find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs.

There's nothing that America can't handle if we actually look squarely at the problem. ...Change depends on our actions.

I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry, and global warming; I believe in free speech, whether politically correct or politically incorrect, and I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody's religious beliefs -including my own- on nonbelievers.

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

I’m convinced that a world in which girls are educated is a safer, more stable, more prosperous place.

You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you.

Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do.

Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality.

The future is ours to win. But to get there we can't just stand still.

Peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.

Sometimes people just feel as if we want to try something to see if we can shake things up.

I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules.

While freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by his people here on earth.

There are war-torn countries, people full of poverty, who still voted, 60, 70 percent. If here in the United States of America, we voted at 60 percent, 70 percent, it would transform our politics.

This pleased Onyango, for to him knowledge was the source of all the white man's power, and he wanted to make sure that his son was as educated as any white man.

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

If poverty is a disease that infects the entire community in the form of unemployment and violence, failing schools and broken homes, then we can't just treat those symptoms in isolation . We have to heal that entire community.

The best anti-poverty program is a world-class education.

I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I’m asking you to believe in yours.

Politics, differences of religion or race, all that fades away when we are confronted with the awesome power of nature, and we're reminded that all we have is each other.

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.

What is important is that we make sure to work together, that we understand our strength comes from unity and not division.

Excuses are tools of the incompetent used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness

I will never apologize for saying that the future of humanity and the future of the world is going to be defined by what we have in common as opposed to those things that separate us and ultimately lead us into conflict.

Persevere. Nothing worthwhile is easy.

Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it, and to work for it, and to fight for it. Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us, but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.

We will remember that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea:- Yes. We. Can.

How do we transform mere power into justice, mere sentiment into love?

We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything's possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

We know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by their kids - to encourage them to turn off the video games and pick up a book; to teach them the difference between right and wrong; to show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated. And most of all, to play an active and engaged role in their lives.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt.

A brighter future is ours to write. Let’s begin this new chapter — together — and let’s start the work right now.

The spirit's there and that's not just my imagination. I think if you look at surveys and attitudes among young people, you see it.

Throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

[T]hese tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are also the tax cuts that are least likely to promote growth.

We know that education is everything to our children's future. We know that they will no longer just compete for good jobs with children from Indiana, but children from India and China and all over the world.

I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new.

[Fall of the Berlin Wall] is a reminder that the commitment of the United States, to Europe is enduring and it's rooted in the values we share; our commitment to democracy, our commitment to rule of law, our commitment to the dignity of all people in our own countries and around the world.

There may be no greater tribute to Steve Jobs' success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.

Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.

I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI, not just in this case, but in any case, full stop, period.

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

Our destiny is not written for us, but by us.

We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.

But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.

We've had every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, every news outlet that has investigated this, confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii, Aug. 4, 1961, in Kapiolani Hospital.

If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.

Hope - Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

What matters is how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in making the lives around us better.

No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together.

While the future is unknowable, the winds always blow in the direction of human progress.

Fighting for what you think is right is always worth it.

Someday, our children, and our children’s children, will look at us in the eye and they'll ask us, did we do all that we could when we had the chance to deal with this problem and leave them a cleaner, safer, more stable world?

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.