Quotessence
Home / Authors / Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Obama Quotes

44th U.S. President

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleThinkingIfsAmericaWorldCountryStatesPresidentKnowsWant

Famous Barack Obama Quotes

“Unfortunately, you've grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They'll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices.”

ShouldProblemGovernmentVoiceRootsCornersHearingTyrannyRejectsEntitySinisterAround The CornerGumLurkingIncessantlyGovernment TyrannyHearing Voices
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“By 2025 we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first ever crewed missions beyond the Moon into deep space. So we'll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history. By the mid-2030s I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow and I expect to be around in see it.”

FirstsBelieveHumansLongEarthI BelieveSpaceJourneyReturnFutureMoonFirst TimeMissionsMarsPredictionsAstronautLandingOrbitAsteroidsLong JourneySpacecraftDeep Space
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“As tough as things have been, I am convinced you are tougher. I've seen your passion and I've seen your service. I've seen you engage and I've seen you turn out in record numbers. I've heard your voices amplified by creativity and a digital fluency that those of us in older generations can barely comprehend. I've seen a generation eager, impatient even, to step into the rushing waters of history and change its course.”

Has BeensTurnsPassionCoursesVoiceWaterInspiringNumbersStepsCreativityRecordsGenerationsHeardToughConvincedDigitalGraduationImpatientRushingOlder GenerationFluencyRushing Water
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“To those of you mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart goes out to you. We remember that the blessings that we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost. Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we cannot ever fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must. We must honor it in our own lives by holding their memories close to our hearts, and heeding the example they set.”

HeartTodayRememberNationsEnjoyMemoriesLossSacrificeExampleHeroMy HeartHonorBlessingCostDearDebtFallenLive ByLoved OnesMemorialMournMemorial DayLoss Of A Loved OneFallen Hero
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group over another - or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.”

WantStatesGoalCommunityChurchReligiousLinesGroupsOfficeOrganizationFavorsFoundersSecularCitizenshipBehalfChurch And StateOur CommunityHelpfulness
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity. Americans know this. We know that government can't solve all our problems - and we don't want it to. But we also know that there are some things we can't do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.”

KnowsWantIdeasCountryProblemGovernmentTogetherOpportunityIndividualBeliefNationsResponsibilityGreatnessShotsRegardSolveMutualCooperationStakesInitiativeCitizenshipFree MarketBetter Together
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
Create image

“I came in with a healthy skepticism about these programs. My team evaluated them. We scrubbed them thoroughly. We actually expanded some of the oversight, increased some of the safeguards. But my assessment, and my team's assessment was that they help us prevent terrorist attacks. In the abstract, you can complain about 'Big Brother' and how this is a potential program run amok. But when you actually look at the details, then, I think we've struck the right balance.”

ThinkingLooksHelpingBigsRunningTeamBrotherBalanceHealthyProgramDetailsComplainingTerroristAbstractPrivacySkepticismAssessmentTerrorist AttacksOversight
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“I hoped for something else. It's a simple dream, but it speaks to us so powerfully because it is our dream - one that exists at the very center of the American experience. One that says if you're willing to work hard and take responsibility, then you'll have the chance to reach for something else; for something better.”

IfsHardDreamSpeakChanceSimpleInspiringResponsibilityWillingHard WorkTaking ResponsibilityOur DreamsSomething BetterSimple Dreams
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
Create image

“We now live in a world where the most valuable skill you can sell is knowledge. Revolutions in technology and communication have created an entire economy of high-tech, high-wage jobs that can be located anywhere there's an internet connection. And today, a child in Chicago is not only competing for jobs with one in Boston, but thousands more in Bangalore and Beijing who are being educated longer and better than ever before.”

WorldChildrenTodayJobsInspiringTechnologyEconomyCommunicationRevolutionInternetSkillsConnectionsSellsValuableEducatedChicagoCompetingBostonBeijingInternet ConnectionBangalore
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
Create image

“If we truly believe in our public schools, then we have a moral responsibility to do better - to break the either-or mentality around school reform, and embrace a both-and mentality. Good schools will require both the structural reform and the resources necessary to prepare our kids for the future.”

IfsBelieveKidsSchoolInspiringResponsibilityMoralBreakResourcesEmbraceReformMentalityPublic SchoolMoral ResponsibilityEither OrGood School
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
Create image

“For me and Michelle, this visit has therefore held special meaning. Throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young Martin Luther King”

MenWorldCountryInspirationYoungFoundMy OwnSimpleInspiringPoorDestinySpecialKingsLessonsProfoundIncludingYoung ManChampionUrbanBehalfLutherGandhiji
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“For in Asia and around the world, India is not simply emerging; India has already emerged. And it is my firm belief that the relationship between the United States and India - bound by our shared interests and values - will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century. This is the partnership I have come here to build. This is the vision that our nations can realise together.”

WorldStatesTogetherValuesBeliefNationsInterestInspiringUnitedVisionUnited StatesCenturyIndiaBoundsAround The WorldFirmRealisingPartnership21st CenturyAsiaDefiningEmergingFirm Beliefs
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“We believe that no matter where you live - whether a village in Punjab or the bylanes of Chandni Chowk, an old section of Kolkata or a new high-rise in Bangalore - every person deserves the same chance to live in security and dignity, to get an education, to find work, and to give their children a better future.”

GivingBelieveChildrenPersonsMatterChanceInspiringSecurityDeserveDignityVillageSectionsBetter FutureWhere You LivePunjabBangalore
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“And so you [young Americans]need to be the Idea Generation. The generation who's always thinking on the cutting edge, who's wondering how to create and keep the next wave of American jobs and American innovations, who's figuring out how to out-compete the Idea Generations of Indias and Chinas of the world.”

ThinkingWorldNeedsIdeasJobsYoungNextInspiringWonderCuttingGenerationsIndiaInnovationWaveEdgesChinaCutting EdgeAlways ThinkingAmerican Jobs
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“[...] we must start by inspiring our children with a sense of purpose...by nurturing their imagination so that they may dream big and then work hard to reach those dreams. Too often, our children spend hours playing Playstation without ever finding out how to build Playstation. They watch television but never wonder how it's put together. They surf web page after web page on the Internet, but are never taught how to design one.”

MayChildrenHardDreamBigsTogetherPurposeHoursImaginationInspiringWonderWatchesDesignTelevisionTaughtHard WorkInternetFindingsPagesOur ChildrenNurturingSurfPlaystationWeb Page
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.”

BelieveMadeRealityWould BeAmericaI BelieveNationsInspiringRaceMistakeIssuesRight NowNegativeStereotypeSermonsSimplifySame MistakesOffendingAmplifyReverendsMaking The Same Mistakes
Author:Barack Obama
Create image