574 quotes
America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests — nor the world's — are served by the denial of human aspirations.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
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.
And finally, Africa’s progress will depend on upholding the human rights of all people -- for if each of us is to be treated with dignity, each of us must be sure to also extend that same dignity to others.
Remarks to the People of Africa (2015)
If you want a society that is free and vibrant and successful, part of that formula is the free flow of information, of ideas, and that requires a free press. A free press is a foundation for any democracy.
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.
Change happens. Hope happens. Not perfection. Not every bit of cruelty and sadness and poverty and disease suddenly stricken from the earth. There will still be problems. But with each new candidate that surprises you with a victory that you supported, a spark of hope happens.
Speech at the University of Illinoise Speech (2018)
Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot keep — but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.
Fifth State of the Union Address (2013)
Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned — as it was on Saturday morning.
Tucson Memorial Address (2011)
And that is not the America I know. The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous.
DNC Address (2016)
Let me say something else about this generation. As Commander-in-Chief, I’m pretty tired of some folks trash-talking America’s military and troops.
Disabled American Veterans Convention (2016)
Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
America's never been about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self-government.
Re-election Speech (2012)
But it should be their choice.
A New Beginning (2009)
Politics is a battle of ideas.
Farewell Address (2017)
And your work reflects a tradition that runs through our history -- a belief that we’re greater together than we are on our own. And that’s what I’ve come here to talk about today.
Remarks on Economic Mobility (2013)
I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
When it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.
With effort, we can roll back poverty and the roadblocks to opportunity. Americans don’t accept a free ride for anybody, nor do we believe in equality of outcomes. But we do expect equal opportunity.
Bloody Sunday Speech (2015)
No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. This—that is not democracy; that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there.
Some of you may be aware our gun laws in the United States don’t make much sense. Anybody can buy any weapon any time — without much if any regulation, they can buy it over the Internet, they can buy machine gun.