Quotessence
Home / Authors / Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Obama Quotes

44th U.S. President

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleThinkingIfsAmericaWorldCountryStatesPresidentKnowsWantUnitedWayUnited StatesYearsNationsBelieveShouldEconomyNeedsHas Beens

Famous Barack Obama Quotes

“Number one, it is important that we fix the legal immigration system, because right now we've got a backlog that means years for people to apply legally. And what's worse is, we keep on increasing the fees, so that if you've got a hard working immigrant family, they've got to hire a lawyer; they've got to pay thousands of dollars in fees. They just can't afford it. And it's discriminatory against people who have good character, we should want in this country, but don't have the money. So we've got to fix that.”

PeopleIfsWantShouldYearsMeanImportantCountryHardCharacterNumbersPayHard WorkRight NowDollarsLawyerImmigrationImmigrantsFeesGood CharacterImmigration ReformLegal Immigration
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“If we are going to solve the challenges we face, you need a President who will pursue genuine solutions day in and day out. And that is my commitment to you. We need immigration reform that will secure our borders, and punish employers who exploit immigrant labor; reform that finally brings the 12 million people who are here illegally out of the shadows by requiring them to take steps to become legal citizens. We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day.”

PeopleIfsNeedsFirstsFacesLawValuesNationsPresidentChallengesStepsPrinciplesMillionsCitizensSolutionsShadowCommitmentLaborSolvePrioritiesGenuineImmigrationPursueSecureReformBordersImmigrantsEmployersExploitsReconcileImmigration ReformChallenges We Face
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“I think back to the day I drove Michelle and a newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago - crawling along, miles under the speed limit, feeling the weight of my daughter's future resting in my hands. I think about the pledge I made to her that day: that I would give her what I never had - that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father. I knew that day that my own life wouldn't count for much unless she had every opportunity in hers.”

IfsThinkingGivingYearsMadeFeelingsHomeHandsWould BeFatherOpportunityMy OwnDadLimitsDaughterYears AgoWeightSpeedMilesIf I CouldMy DaughterHospitalsPledgeMy Own LifeFathers DayNewbornCrawlingAnything In LifeGood FatherSpeed Limits
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I'll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I'll walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America, because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.”

IfsKnowsStatesAmericaHousePresidentLinesWhiteWalksUnitedUnited StatesStruggleComfortableDeserveStandingWorkersShoesCornersPairsWhite HouseDeniedOrganizeUnited States Of AmericaBargainsPair Of ShoesAmerican Workers
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or who you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try.”

IfsTryingBelieveLooksIdeasMatterHardAbleAmericaYoungI BelieveBlackWhitePoorRichWillingHard WorkPromiseGayWho You AreNativeLgbtNative AmericanFoundersAsianDisabledHispanicBlack Or WhiteRich Or PoorWhere You ComeWilling To Try
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?”

IfsShouldChildrenChristianityPolicyEatingOur ChildrenSlaveryGuidesScriptureYour ChildrenPassagesHusseinChristian FaithPublic PolicyMind BlowingAbominationChristianity And IslamSermon On The MountNation Of IslamMuslim FaithLeviticusShellfish
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
Create image

“If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should make for themselves.”

PeopleIfsWantGivingShouldTryingIdeasCareChoicesVoiceInterestDifferencesMillionsSpecialPoliticianGayGiving UpVoteHarderElectionChecksHealth CareMaking A DifferenceVoidGay RightsSpecial InterestsLobbyistsFill The Void
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“A green, Fifa Coins| Fifa Coins| Fifa Coins| Fifa Coins| Fifa Coins| replica watches|renewable energy economy isn't some pie-in-the-sky, far-off future - it is now. It is creating jobs - now. It is providing cheap alternatives to $140-per-barrel oil - now. And it can create millions of additional jobs, an entire new industry, if we act - now.”

IfsJobsEnergyWatchesMillionsEconomySkyIndustryCreatingGreenOilAlternativesProvidingPieCoinsBarrelsRenewable EnergyCreating JobsReplicaFifa
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“That bright blue ball rising over the moon's surface, containing everything we hold dear - the laughter of children, a quiet sunset, all the hopes and dreams of posterity - that's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if we remember that, I'm absolutely sure we'll succeed.”

IfsChildrenDreamRememberFightingQuietMoonSucceedLaughterBallsBlueClimate ChangeDearSurfaceRisingGlobal WarmingSunsetStakesPosterityHopes And DreamsContaining
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Affirmative action is not going to be the long-term solution to the problems of race in America, because, frankly, if you've got 50 percent of African-American or Latino kids dropping out of high school, it doesn't really matter what you do in terms of affirmative action. Those kids aren't going to college.”

IfsLongMatterProblemKidsActionSchoolAmericaTermRaceCollegeSolutionsPercentHigh SchoolAfrican AmericanLong TermDroppingLatinoAffirmative ActionAffirmativeRace In AmericaGoing To CollegeDropping Out
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Honestly this is not going to change unless the people who want to prevent these kinds of mass shootings from taking place feel at least as passionate, at least as mobilized and well-funded as the NRA and the gun manufacturers are because the politics in Congress are such where even members of Congress who know better are fearful if they vote their conscience and support common sense measures like background checks, they're worried they're going to lose.”

PeopleIfsKnowsWantFeelsWellsKindLosesCommonSupportMembersMassGunConscienceVoteCongressPassionateHonestlyBackgroundsChecksCommon SenseWorriedShootingFearfulGun ControlNraMass ShootingsBackground Checks
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Even as we do all that's necessary to ensure Israel's security, even as we are clear-eyed about the difficult challenges before us, and even as we pledge to stand by Israel through whatever tough days lie ahead, I hope we do not give up on that vision of peace. For if history teaches us anything, if the story of Israel teaches us anything, it is that with courage and resolve, progress is possible. Peace is possible.”

IfsGivingStoriesLyingDifficultChallengesVisionTeachClearProgressSecurityGiving UpToughIsraelResolveJudaismNot Giving UpPledgeDo Not Give UpDifficult ChallengesTough Day
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“And I’ve said this all across the country when I talk to parents about education, government has to fulfill its obligations to fund education, but parents have to do their job too. We’ve got to turn off the TV set, we’ve got to put away the video game, and we have to tell our children that education is not a passive activity, you have to be actively engaged in it. If we encourage that attitude and our community is enforcing it, I have no doubt we can compete with anybody in the world.”

IfsWorldChildrenSaidCountryGovernmentJobsTurnsGamesParentCommunityAttitudeDoubtTvsActivityOur ChildrenObligationVideoEngagedNo DoubtFundPassiveOur CommunityTurn Off
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Our goal is to have a country that's not divided by race. And my impression, as I travel around the country, is that that's the kind of country that most people want, as well, and that we all have prejudice, we all have certain suspicions or stereotypes about people who are different from us, whether it's religious or racial or ethnic, but what I think I found in the American people, I think there's a core decency there, where if they take the time, if they get the time to know individuals, then they want to judge those individuals by their character.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWantWellsKindDifferentCountryCharacterCertainFoundIndividualGoalReligiousRaceJudgingRacismPrejudiceCoreImpressionDividedSuspicionStereotypeDecency
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“I could never be a politician. But as uncomfortable as I would be doing so, I have no problem with Obama's long-planned 'change of heart.' This dude's made huge, measurable strides for gay rights, and if being coy about his plans for gay marriage for a few years was needed to get him elected, then so be it. LGBT persons will be better off, and federal same-sex marriage recognition will come sooner because of it.”

IfsYearsHeartPersonsLongMadeProblemWould BeSexRightsPlansHugeNeededPoliticianGayRecognitionUncomfortableLgbtNo ProblemBetter OffGay MarriageGay RightsStrideChange Of Heart
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Who cares if it's a campaign strategy, and who are other people to say it's ridiculous? I'm not gay, but I strongly support gay marriage. What if someone told you you couldn't marry the one you love? I think it's about time! Let people who love each other that are the same sex get married. They deserve the right to be happy also.”

PeopleIfsThinkingCareSexSupportGayMarriedDeserveStrategyCampaignsRidiculousWhat IfWho CaresGay MarriageLove Each OtherOne You LoveSupport Gay Marriage
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“My Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence all young people for the act of sexual intimacy.”

PeopleIfsThinkingMenWayShouldChildrenSelfHelpingYoungTurnsResponsibilityBibleTrainIntimacyPresidentialGuidanceYoung ManReverenceYoung WomenSense Of SelfSense Of Responsibility
Book:An American Story: The Speeches of Barack Obama : a Primer
Create image

“It is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

IfsWellsLawMotherPresidentEffortWifeGenerationsJourneyBrotherGayEqualDaughterTasksCommitTreatedBrothers And SistersPioneersOur GenerationMother And Daughter
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“Now, today, some children are enrolled in excellent programs. Some children are enrolled in mediocre programs. And some are wasting away their most formative years in bad programs....That's why I'm issuing a challenge to our states: Develop a cutting-edge plan to raise the quality of your early learning programs; show us how you'll work to ensure that children are better prepared for success by the time they enter kindergarten. If you do, we will support you with an Early Learning Challenge Grant that I call on Congress to enact.”

IfsYearsChildrenStatesShowsTodayChallengesQualitySupportCuttingPlansChildhoodProgramRaisesPreparedCongressEdgesExcellentGrantsMediocreKindergartenSupport YouCutting EdgeFormative Years
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“If condoms and potentially microbicides can prevent millions of deaths [from AIDS], they should be made more widely available. I know that there are those who, out of sincere religious conviction, oppose such measures. And with these folks, I must respectfully but unequivocally disagree.”

IfsKnowsShouldMadeReligiousMillionsFolksConvictionAvailableAidsSincereDisagreeCondom
Book:Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House
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