Barack Obama

First Black US President

Contemporary influential 122 sayings

Sayings by Barack Obama

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

2008 — Remarks at a private fundraiser in San Francisco
Controversial Unverifiable

I mean, I'm a pretty good bowler, but I'm not a good enough bowler to be in the Special Olympics.

2009 — Interview on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'
Controversial Unverifiable

At some point, you've made enough money.

2010 — Speech in Ohio
Controversial Unverifiable

I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.

2008 — Remarks to Joe the Plumber during a campaign stop
Controversial Unverifiable

I am not a fan of the term 'Islamic extremism.' I think it lends itself to the idea that there is something inherently extreme about Islam, and that's not the case.

2015 — Interview with The Atlantic
Controversial Unverifiable

We don’t have a strategy yet.

2014 — Press conference regarding ISIS
Controversial Unverifiable

I think we've been a little bit lazy, I think, in our approach to energy, and we haven't been willing to make some of the tough choices.

2008 — Interview with The New York Times
Controversial Unverifiable

I mean, the truth is, is that there are whole stretches of the country where you don't grow up with a lot of interaction with people who are different from you.

2008 — Interview with The New York Times Magazine
Controversial Unverifiable

The private sector is doing fine.

2012 — Press conference
Controversial Unverifiable

America is not a Christian nation.

2009 — Remarks in Turkey
Controversial Unverifiable

We can't just drill our way out of the problem.

2008 — Remarks on energy policy
Controversial Unverifiable

I actually believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.

2009 — Press conference in Strasbourg, France
Controversial Unverifiable

I think when you consider the sweep of human history, it's a pretty good bet that the arc of the moral universe does bend towards justice. But it doesn't bend on its own.

2015 — Remarks at the Selma 50th Anniversary
Controversial Unverifiable

There's not a lot of evidence that it's going to work, but I'm an optimist.

2010 — Remarks on the Affordable Care Act
Controversial Unverifiable

You can't have a 100 percent security and also have 100 percent privacy and zero inconvenience.

2013 — Remarks on NSA surveillance
Controversial Unverifiable

We tortured some folks.

2014 — Press conference on CIA torture report
Controversial Unverifiable

I am my brother's keeper. I am my sister's keeper.

2008 — Speech at the Democratic National Convention
Controversial Unverifiable

We don’t need to be defined by our differences. We need to be defined by our common humanity.

2008 — Remarks at a town hall meeting
Controversial Unverifiable

The future belongs to the innovators, the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers, and the dreamers.

2016 — Remarks at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Controversial Unverifiable

There's no such thing as a perfect policy.

2010 — Interview with The New York Times
Controversial Unverifiable