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Quote by Barack Obama

“We were very effective, and I was very effective, in shaping public opinion around my campaigns. But there were big stretches, while governing, where even though we were doing the right thing, we weren't able to mobilize public opinion firmly enough behind us to weaken the resolve of the Republicans to stop opposing us or to cooperate with us. And there were times during my presidency where I lost the PR battle.”

Quote by Barack Obama

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Barack Obama, born on August 4, 1961, served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama's presidency was marked by significant achievements, including the Affordable Care Act and the normalization of relations with Cuba. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. more

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“Losing the PR battles, particularly about healthcare, translated into losing his Democratic majorities in Congress, beginning with a Republican landslide in the midterm election of 2010.”

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“Leadership isn't just legislation, that it's a matter of persuading people and giving them confidence, and bringing them together and setting a tone.”

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“By 2016, the people who had looked to [Barack] Obama for change were looking somewhere else.”

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“I think the American people can change Washington. But I think that it is not going to change, because somebody from on high directs that change.”

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“Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, are motivated by all kinds of issues. They're sincerely interested in the economy, in terrorism, in social issues. But the one overriding thing they're interested in is getting reelected. And if they think that it's harder for them to get reelected by cooperating with each other, then they won't cooperate.”

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“In the first two years, when I had a strong majority in the House and the Senate, we were as productive as any administration has been since the '60s. I mean, we got a lot done.”

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“To sustain a governing majority, that requires an ability for Republicans and Democrats to find some common ground. And right now, the structure of the system is such where it makes it really hard for people to work together.”

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“The Supreme Court nominations [example]. I mean, the fact that Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans, was able to just stop a nomination almost a year before the next election and really not pay a political price for it, that's a sign that the incentives for politicians in this town to be so sharply partisan have gotten so outta hand that we're weakening ourselves.”

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“We have states. And we have cities. And we have counties. And we have the private sector. And - and so the country still works even when Washington's dysfunctional.”

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“The framers, in their wisdom, designed the [political] system so that power's pretty disbursed.”

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Author:Barack Obama