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Barack Obama

1,038 quotes

“In regard to homosexuality, I must say that I believe this is an attempt to remove oneself from the present, a refusal perhaps to perpetuate the endless farce of earthly life. You see, I make love to men daily, but in the imagination. My mind is androgynous to a great extent and I hope to make it more so until I can think in terms of people, not women as opposed to men. But, in returning to the body, I see that I have been made a man, and physically in life, I choose to accept that contingency.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: November 1982, reported in 2023 by several media. Jon Levine. "Barack Obama told ex, 'I make love to men daily, but in the imagination,' letter shows" (archived), New York Post, 12 August 2023. David Millward. "Obama re…
“I'm deeply saddened by a sense that whites are still superior in this country, in some sense, that if you sit at a restaurant, they're served before a Kenyan is served. If you go through customs, a white person is going to follow orders that "all people are to be treated the same". ..”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said during a visit to Kenya in the late 1980s or early 1990s, recorded in the 20-minute documentary "A Journey In Black And White" by WeSearchr, as reported and quoted in "Documentary Of Young Obama’s Visit To Kenya Is…
“Hopefully, more and more people will begin to feel their story is somehow part of this larger story of how we're going to reshape America in a way that is less mean-spirited and more generous.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me. And I'm not interested in isolating myself. I feel good when I'm engaged in what I think are the core issues of the society, and those core issues to me are what's happening to poor folks in this society.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Informing the interviewer that he wasn't interested in merely being a financial success and moving to the suburbs, in "No Cushy Post for this Pioneer Harvard Law Review Chief Plans to Work in Inner City", by Allison J P…
“It's crucial that people don't see my election as somehow a symbol of progress in the broader sense, that we don't sort of point to (me) any more than you point to a Bill Cosby or a Michael Jordan and say, "Well, things are hunky-dory." There's certainly racism here. Professors may treat black students differently, sometimes by being, sort of, more dismissive, sometimes by being more, sort of, careful because they think, you know, they think that somehow we can't cope in the classroom.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his election to be the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, as quoted in "No Cushy Post for this Pioneer Harvard Law Review Chief Plans to Work in Inner City", by Allison J Pugh in The Akron Beacon-Journa…
“[Americans have] a continuing normative commitment to the ideals of individual freedom and mobility, values that extend far beyond the issue of race in the American mind. The depth of this commitment may be summarily dismissed as the unfounded optimism of the average American—I may not be Donald Trump now, but just you wait; if I don't make it, my children will.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Race and Rights Rhetoric", a law school paper, as quoted in Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama (2017) by David Garrow, and reported in "Young Obama Said the American Dream Is to Be Donald Trump", Vice (12 May 2017)
“Bob Dole seems to me to be a classic example of somebody who had no reason to run. You're 73 years old, you're already the third-most-powerful man in the country. So why? He seems to be drawn by some psychological compulsion. And it's too bad because in a lot of ways, he's an admirable person. There's a great story there. And Bill Clinton? Well, his campaign's fascinating to a student of politics. It's disturbing to someone who cares about certain issues. But politically, it seems to be working.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "A Newcomer to the Business of Politics has Seen Enough to Reach Some Conclusions About Restoring Voters' Trust", by Joe Frolik, in The Plain Dealer (3 August 1996)
“You got these $10,000-a-plate dinners and Golden Circles Clubs. I think when the average voter looks at that, they rightly feel they're locked out of the process. They can't attend a $10,000 breakfast and they know that those who can are going to get the kind of access they can't imagine.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "A Newcomer to the Business of Politics has Seen Enough to Reach Some Conclusions About Restoring Voters' Trust", by Joe Frolik, inThe Plain Dealer (3 August 1996)
“I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution because I actually believe in redistribution — at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now let me be clear: I suffer no illusions about Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal man. A ruthless man. A man who butchers his own people to secure his own power.… The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors…and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks Against Going to War with Iraq (2 October 2002).
“We may have occasion in our lifetime to once again rise up in defense of our freedom, and pay the wages of war.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks Against Going to War with Iraq (2 October 2002).
“I'm proud of the fact that I stood up early and unequivocally in opposition to Bush's foreign policy. That opposition hasn't changed.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to The Black Commentator (19 June 2003).
“I opposed DOMA 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. …I know how important the issue of equal rights is to the LGBT community. I share your sense of urgency. If I am elected U.S. Senator, you can be confident that my colleagues in the Senate and the President will know my position.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the Defense of Marriage Act, Windy City Times (11 February 2004)
“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 (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Candidate" in The New Yorker (31 May 2004)
“Where the stakes are the highest, in the war on terror, we cannot possibly succeed without extraordinary international cooperation. Effective international police actions require the highest degree of intelligence sharing, planning and collaborative enforcement.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (12 July 2004)
“The [Bush] Administration's failure to be consistently involved in helping Israel achieve peace with the Palestinians has been both wrong for our friendship with Israel, as well as badly damaging to our standing in the Arab world. I do not pretend to have all the answers to this vexing problem, and untangling the issues involved is an appropriate topic for a separate speech. What I can say is this: not only must we be consistent, but we will not succeed unless we have the cooperation of the European Union and the Arab States in pressing for reforms within the Palestinian community.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (12 July 2004)
“Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism have reduced the pace of military transformation and have revealed our lack of preparation for defensive and stability operations. This Administration has overextended our military.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (12 July 2004)
“On Iraq, on paper, there's not as much difference, I think, between the Bush administration and a Kerry administration as there would have been a year ago. There's not much of a difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Obama's a Star Who Doesn't Follow the Script" by John Kass in The Chicago Tribune (27 July 2004)
“That's silly talk... Talk to my wife. She'll tell me I need to learn to just put my socks on the hamper.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Barack the Blessed" by Jim Geraghty in National Review (27 July 2004) quoting Obama on his Presidential aspirations as stated on Meet the Press the previous Sunday.
“You know, my faith is one that admits some doubt.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos (15 August 2004)
“No one is pro-abortion.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Benedictine University (5 October 2004)
“Our first and immutable commitment must be to the security of Israel, our only true ally in the Middle East and the only democracy,”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chicago Daily Herald (18 October 2004)
“There are some who might say that somebody named Barack Obama can’t be elected senator in the state of Illinois. They’re probably the same folks who said that a guy named Rod Blagojevich couldn’t be elected governor of the state of Illinois.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm LeBron, baby. I can play on this level. I got some game.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That is the true genius of America—a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there's the United States of America.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted — or at least, most of the time.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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 (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“John Kerry believes in an America where hard work is rewarded.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today, on this day of possibility, we stand in the shadow of a lanky, raw-boned man with little formal education who once took the stage at Old Main and told the nation that if anyone did not believe the American principles of freedom and equality, that those principles were timeless and all-inclusive, they should go rip that page out of the Declaration of Independence.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Knox College Commencement Address (4 June 2005)
“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 (born 1961) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Knox College Commencement Address (4 June 2005)
“When we think of the major threats to our national security, the first to come to mind are nuclear proliferation, rogue states and global terrorism. But another kind of threat lurks beyond our shores, one from nature, not humans — an avian flu pandemic.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New York Times op-ed "Grounding a Pandemic" (6 June 2005) by Barack Obama and Richard Lugar
“I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Uncovering the Real Abe Lincoln: What I See in Lincoln's Eyes" Time magazine (26 June 2005)
“I have never seen anyone burn a flag. And if I did, it would take every ounce of restraint I had not to haul off and hit them.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Voting against a Flag Desecration Amendment (2006), as quoted in "The Constitution, Designed to Change, Rarely Does" (4 December 2008), by Jennifer S. Forsyth, The Wall Street Journal
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on the floor of the US Senate in which he opposed raising the US debt limit. (16 March 2006)
“The American people are a welcoming and generous people. But those who enter our country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law. And because we live in an age where terrorists are challenging our borders, we cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of the immigration laws.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on the floor of the US Senate (3 April 2006). "Obama Fence Statement", starting at about 2:05.
“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 (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Keeping Hope Alive", The Oprah Winfrey Show (18 October 2006)
“When I was a kid, I inhaled. Frequently. That was the point.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meeting of the American Society of Magazine Editors (Oct. 2006) — "10 politicians puffing about pot" by M. J. Lee, POLITICO (19 March 2012)
“Evolution is more grounded in my experience than angels.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by David Remnick at the American Magazine Conference (23 October 2006)
“Most of all, I want to thank you for all the generous advance coverage you've given me in anticipation of a successful career. When I actually do something, we'll let you know.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to reporters, 2006 Gridiron Dinner.
“As the world continues to change and we become more connected to each other, globalization will bring both benefits and disruptions to our lives. But either way, it's here, and it's not going away. We can try to build walls around us, and we can look inward, and we can respond by being frightened and angry about those disruptions.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world - one that makes you understand that your obligations to others extend beyond people who look like you and act like you and live in your neighborhood.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You will be tested. You won't always succeed. But know that you have it within your power to try. That generations who have come before you faced these same fears and uncertainties in their own time. And that through our collective labor, and through God's providence, and our willingness to shoulder each other's burdens, America will continue on its journey towards that distant horizon, and a better day.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In an interview with Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, the day before announcing his candidacy for President:”
Barack Obama (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity, to this announcement. I know that I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington, but I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. People who love their country can change it.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Announcement of Candidacy for President of the United States. (10 February 2007)
“We've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. We are distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants, and as people have looked away in frustration and disillusionment, we know who has filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests, who've turned government into only a game they can afford to play. They write the checks while you get stuck with the bill. They get access while you get to write a letter.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Announcement of Candidacy for President of the United States. (10 February 2007)
“The Israeli people, and Prime Minister Olmert, have made clear that they are more than willing to negotiate an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will result in two states living side by side in peace and security. But the Israelis must trust that they have a true Palestinian partner for peace. That is why we must strengthen the hands of Palestinian moderates who seek peace and that is why we must maintain the isolation of Hamas and other extremists who are committed to Israel's destruction.”
Barack Obama (born 1961) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at AIPAC. (2 March 2007)