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I Had Said From The Start That I Thought Iraq Was A Mistake, That We Should Have Stayed Focused On Afghanistan. I Think It Was The Right Decision Because The Taliban At That Point Had Gotten A Lot Of Momentum Before I'd Gotten Into Office, Partly Because We Hadn't Been Paying Attention As Much As We Needed To To Afghanistan.
-Barack Obama
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I Had Said From

Barack Obama
I Had Said From The Start That I Thought Iraq Was A Mistake, That We Should Have Stayed Focused On Afghanistan. I Think It Was The Right Decision Because The Taliban At That Point Had Gotten A Lot Of Momentum Before I'd Gotten Into Office, Partly Because We Hadn't Been Paying Attention As Much As We Needed To To Afghanistan.
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Topic
Mistake
Thinking
Should Have
More From Barack Obama
Politics, Differences Of Religion Or Race, All That Fades Away When We Are Confronted With The Awesome Power Of Nature, And We're Reminded That All We Have Is Each Other.
Differences
Race
Human Nature
Reversing Structural Problems In Our Economy That Have Been Building Up For Two Decades, That Was Gonna Take Time. It Was Gonna Take More Than A Year. It Was Gonna Take More Than Two Years. It Was Gonna Take More Than One Term. Probably Takes More Than One President.
Years
Building Up
Two
It's Time To Fundamentally Change The Way That We Do Business In Washington. To Help Build A New Foundation For The 21st Century, We Need To Reform Our Government So That It Is More Efficient, More Transparent, And More Creative. That Will Demand New Thinking And A New Sense Of Responsibility For Every Dollar That Is Spent.
Creativity
Responsibility
Thinking
I Said This Right After The Election - We Have To Remind Ourselves We're On The Same Team. Vladimir Putin's Not On Our Team.
Team
Election
Putin
One Of The Best Parts Of The Holiday Season Is Spending Time With The Special People In Your Life.
Holiday
Special People
People In Your Life
If You Look At How I've Tried To And How I'll Continue To Try To Govern, I'm Not Driven By Some Ideological Agenda. I'm A Pretty Practical Guy And I Just Want To Make Sure That Things Work.
Guy
Trying
Looks
Get Involved In An Issue That You're Passionate About. It Almost Doesn't Matter What It Is ... We Give Too Much Of Our Power Away, To The Professional Politicians, To The Lobbyists, To Cynicism. And Our Democracy Suffers As A Result.
Inspirational
Issues
Giving
[my Kids] Are, Sweet, Kind, Funny, Smart, Respectful People, And They Treat Everybody With Respect. That's Not Just The Biases Of A Parent. We Feel Pretty Good When We Hear Back From Friends, Cause They Still Have Sleepovers And They Go To Other Folks Houses And When The Parents Say, Oh You Know, Malia, She's Just So Sweet, Or Sasha Helped To Pick Up The Dishes.
Sweet
Smart
Kids
Reverend Wright Has Been My Friend And Mentor For Over 20 Years.
Years
Mentor
Reverends
I Think That Dealing With Guns Is One Way To Handle The Violent-crime Issues That We Have In This Country.
Country
Gun
Thinking
That We Are In The Midst Of Crisis Is Now Well Understood. Our Nation Is At War, Against A Far-reaching Network Of Violence And Hatred. Our Economy Is Badly Weakened, A Consequence Of Greed And Irresponsibility On The Part Of Some, But Also Our Collective Failure To Make Hard Choices And Prepare The Nation For A New Age. Homes Have Been Lost; Jobs Shed; Businesses Shuttered. Our Health Care Is Too Costly; Our Schools Fail Too Many; And Each Day Brings Further Evidence That The Ways We Use Energy Strengthen Our Adversaries And Threaten Our Planet.
Jobs
War
Home
Of Course, Violence Will Not End With Our Combat Mission. Extremists Will Continue To Set Off Bombs, Attack Iraqi Civilians And Try To Spark Sectarian Strife. But Ultimately, These Terrorists Will Fail To Achieve Their Goals.
Goal
Trying
Bombs
For More Than 60 Years, The United States Has Stood By Our Allies And Partners In The Asia Pacific. That Includes Our Defence Partnership With Singapore, Which Stretches Back More Than Two Decades.
Two
Years
Asia
The Biggest Threat That We Face Right Now Is Not A Nuclear Missile Coming Over The Skies. It's In A Suitcase. This Is Why The Issue Of Nuclear Proliferation Is So Important. It Is The - The Biggest Threat To The United States Is A Terrorist Getting Their Hands On Nuclear Weapons.
Important
Threat
Terrorist
National Legislation Will Prevent Other States' Flawed Concealed-weapons Laws From Threatening The Safety Of Illinois Residents.
Illinois
Law
Safety
We Will Kill Bin Laden. We Will Crush Al Qaeda. That Has To Be Our Biggest National Security Priority.
Crush
Priorities
Als
The Private Sector Is Doing Fine.
Fine
Private Sector
I Am Who I Am. You Sort Of Get What You See With Me.
Who I Am
I Am Who I Am
Short Term, The Most Important Thing Is To Put People Back To Work ... If They're Working, That Means They're Paying Taxes, That Means That They're Buying Goods And Services - And The Economy, Instead Of Being On A Downward Spiral, Starts Back Up On An Upward Spiral.
Mean
People
Important
But It Will Depend On Young People Like You Being Open To New Ideas And New Possibilities. And It Will Require Young People Like You Never To Stereotype Or Assume The Worst About Other People.
Ideas
People
Empathy
And Joe Biden, Thank You For Being The Best Vice President I Could Ever Hope For.
President
Vices
Biden
Since I'm The President And Democrats Have Controlled The House And The Senate, It's Understandable That People Are Saying, You Know, 'what Have You Done?'
People
House
President
I Think That There's No Doubt That As I See Friends, Families, Children Of Gay Couples Who Are Thriving, You Know, That Has An Impact On How I Think About These Issues.
Children
Couple
Gay
I'd Say, Probably, Intellectually I've Drawn As Much From Judaism As Any Other Faith.
Judaism
We Made America More Respected Around The World, Took On The Mantle Of Leadership In The Fight To Protect This Planet For Our Kids, And Much, Much More.
Kids
Fighting
America
This Is About Respect For Women, The Judgments That Women Make And Their Doctors About Their Reproductive Health. It's An Important Part Of Who Women Are, Their Reproductive Health.
Doctors
Important
Judgment
The Only Reason I Send A Single Young Man Or Woman In Uniform Anywhere In The World Is Because I Think It's Necessary To Keep Us Safe.
Men
Thinking
World
I've Said Many Times Around The World That Like Any Government, Like Any Country, Like, Any Set Of Human Institutions, We Have Our Flaws. We've Operated Imperfectly. There Are Times We've Made Mistakes.
Country
Mistake
Government
We've Had Every Official In Hawaii, Democrat And Republican, Every News Outlet That Has Investigated This, Confirm That, Yes, In Fact, I Was Born In Hawaii, Aug. 4, 1961, In Kapiolani Hospital.
Political
News
Hawaii
No Development Strategy Can Be Based Only Upon What Comes Out Of The Ground, Nor Can It Be Sustained While Young People Are Out Of Work.
Powerful
People
Development
Our Journey Is Not Complete Until We Find A Better Way To Welcome The Striving, Hopeful Immigrants Who Still See America As A Land Of Opportunity, Until Bright Young Students And Engineers Are Enlisted In Our Workforce Rather Than Expelled From Our Country.
Country
Opportunity
Journey
N Case You Missed It, This Week, There Was A Tragedy In Kansas. Ten Thousand People Died - An Entire Town Destroyed.
Stupid
Kansas
People
Teddy Roosevelt Supported A Progressive Income Tax. If I Am Sitting Pretty And You've Got A Waitress Who Is Making Minimum Wage Plus Tips, And I Can Afford It And She Can't, What's The Big Deal For Me To Say, 'i'm Going To Pay A Little Bit More'? That Is Neighborliness.
Income
Sitting
Minimum Wage
There Are Some Exceptions: Chicago, My Hometown, In Particular. But Overall In The Country This Is A Much Safer Place Than It Used To Be.
Country
Chicago
Hometown
We Must Carry Forward The Work Of The Women Who Came Before Us And Ensure Out Daughters Have No Limits On Their Dreams, No Obstacles To Their Achievements And No Remaining Ceilings To Shatter.
Daughter
Dream
Achievement
We Live In A Moment When The Dream Of Equal Opportunity Is Within Reach.
Dream
Opportunity
Moments
We Must Educate Our Children To Become Like Young Egyptian People.
Children
People
Egyptian Revolution
Money Is The Original Sin In Politics And I Am Not Sinless.
Sin
Original Sin
Originals
We Can Still See God In Other People And Do Our Best To Help Them Find Their Own Grace. So That’s What I Strive To Do And Pray To Do Every Day.
People
Grace
Helping
A Political Candidacy Built Around Hope And Change And Compromise Would Eventually Become A Presidency Of Crisis And Confrontation.
Political
Compromise
Crisis
My Faith Reminds Me That We All Are Sinners.
Sinner
For The Young People Here: Practicality Is A Good Thing. There Are Times Where Compromise Is Necessary. That's Part Of Wisdom. But It's Also Important To Hang On To What You Believe.
Believe
Memorable
People
Boston Is A Tough And Resilient Town. So Are Its People. I'm Supremely Confident That Bostonians Will Pull Together, Take Care Of Each Other, And Move Forward As One Proud City. And As They Do, The American People Will Be With Them Every Single Step Of The Way.
Moving
Boston
Cities
Fear, Uncertainty And Discomfort Are Your Compasses Toward Growth. If You Run You Stand A Chance Of Losing, But If You Don't Run You've Already Lost.
Running
Life Changing
Growth
The Time To Fix Our Broken Immigration System Is Now... We Need Stronger Enforcement On The Border And At The Workplace... But For Reform To Work, We Also Must Respond To What Pulls People To America... Where We Can Reunite Families, We Should. Where We Can Bring In More Foreign-born Workers With The Skills Our Economy Needs, We Should.
Skills
America
People
I Have Been To This Point Unwilling To Sign On To Same-sex Marriage Primarily Because Of My Understandings Of The Traditional Definitions Of Marriage. But I Also Think You're Right That Attitudes Evolve, Including Mine.
Sex
Attitude
Gay
I'm Not So Optimistic As To Think That You Would Ever Be Able To Garner A Majority Of An American Congress That Would Make Those Kinds Of Investments Above And Beyond The Kinds Of Investments That Could Be Made In A Progressive Program For Lifting Up All People.
Optimistic
Thinking
People
I Think That Where I've Gotten Frustrated During The Course Of My Presidency Has Never Been Because I Was Getting Pushed Too Hard By Activists To See The Justness Of A Cause Or The Essence Of An Issue.
Thinking
Essence
Issues
In The Wealthiest Nation On Earth – No Illness Or Accident Should Lead To Any Family’s Financial Ruin.
Health
Earth
Ruins
Physically, I Feel Probably As Good As I've Ever Felt. And I've Got As Much Energy As I Ever Did. But What You Feel After Eight Years - And I Think You'd Feel This No Matter What, But Anytime You Have A Big Transition, It Gets Magnified - Is Time Passes.
Thinking
Eight
Years
I Think It Is Important For Europe To Understand That Even Though I Am President And George Bush Is Not President, Al Qaeda Is Still A Threat.
Thinking
Europe
President
If 90 Percent Or 95 Percent Of Those - Chemical Stockpiles [in Syria] Were Eliminated, That's A Lot Of Chemical Weapons That Are Not Right Now In The Hands Of Isil Or Nusra Or, For That Matter, The Regime.
Hands
Isil
Weapons
Both President Kennedy And President Reagan Were Roundly Criticized By Parts Of The Foreign Policy Establishment That Felt They Were Being Weak By Engaging Our Adversaries. So Some Of It Is Built Into A Political Lexicon That Makes You Sound Tougher If You Don't Talk To Somebody, And Rather, Very Loudly, Wield A Big Stick.
Political
President
Sound
It's The Answer Told By Lines That Stretched Around Schools And Churches In Numbers This Nation Has Never Seen; By People Who Waited Three Hours And Four Hours, Many For The Very First Time In Their Lives, Because They Believed That This Time Must Be Different, That Their Voice Could Be That Difference.
Life
School
Voice
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.
Giving Up
Lying
Israel
For The World Has Changed, And We Must Change With It
World
Changed
I Think One Of The Tragedies Of The Civil Rights Movement Was Because The Civil Rights Movement Became So Court-focused, I Think That There Was A Tendency To Lose Track Of The Political And Community Organizing, And Activities On The Ground, That Are Able To Put Together The Actual Coalitions Of Power Throughout Which You Bring About Redistributive Change. And In Some Ways, We Still Suffer From That.
Thinking
Rights
Track
If Everything Seems To Be The Same And No Distinctions Are Made, Then We Won't Know What To Protect. We Won't Know What To Fight For.
Fighting
Made
Distinction
We Need More Responsibility, But We Need It Not Just When There's A Crisis. I Mean, We've Had Years In Which The Reigning Economic Ideology Has Been What's Good For Wall Street, But Not What's Good For Main Street.
Wall
Mean
Responsibility
Both Of Our Nations [america And Germany] Were Proud To Join The Paris Climate Agreement Which The World Should Work To Implement Quickly. Continued Global Leadership On Climate In Addition To Increasing Private Investment And Clean Energy Is Gonna Be Critical To Meeting This Growing Threat.
Agreement
Paris
America
We've Evolved A Lot Since 9/11 Also, In Terms Of Our Law Enforcement Capabilities, Our Intelligence Capabilities, Military, Counterterrorism.
Military
Law
Enforcement
Often The Best Source Of Information About Waste, Fraud, And Abuse In Government Is An Existing Government Employee Committed To Public Integrity And Willing To Speak Out. Such Acts Of Courage And Patriotism, Which Can Sometimes Save Lives And Often Save Taxpayer Dollars, Should Be Encouraged Rather Than Stifled As They Have Been During The Bush Administration. We Need To Empower Federal Employees As Watchdogs Of Wrongdoing And Partners In Performance.
Integrity
Government
Speaks Out
I Refuse To Give In To The Notion That The American People Can't Handle Complicated Information.
Giving
People
Information
I Never Understood That Line. The Point Was To Inhale. That Was The Point.
Marijuana
Lines
Cannabis
I Would Put Our Legislative And Foreign Policy Accomplishments In Our First Two Years Against Any President - With The Possible Exceptions Of Johnson, Fdr, And Lincoln - Just In Terms Of What We've Gotten Done In Modern History. But, You Know, But When It Comes To The Economy, We've Got A Lot More Work To Do. And We're Gonna Keep On At It.
Years
Two
Accomplishment
The Supreme Court Had The Choice Not Only Which Way To Rule, Pro- Or Anti-gay Marriage Rights, But Also How They Were Going To Rule. They Could Have Ruled Just Federalism, Saying, "this Isn't A Matter For Federal; This Isn't A Federal Issue At All. States Should Decide It." Or They Could Decide It On Equal Protection Grounds And Say That, "gay Discrimination Is Wrong."
Gay
Issues
Rights
Let's Take Our Clothes Off And Party
Party
Clothes
[white House Is] The Finest Prison In The World.
White
House
World
We Should Never Hesitate To Use Military Force, And I Will Not, As President, In Order To Keep The American People Safe. But We Have To Use Our Military Wisely. And We Did Not Use Our Military Wisely In Iraq.
Military
People
President
I Think That The Democratic Party Is A Big Tent, Which Means That There Are Positions I May Not Agree With.
Party
Mean
Thinking
What Is Portrayed As High-minded Positions On Issues Sometimes Is Just Designed To Carve Out Some Of Their Commercial Interests.
Nsa
Issues
Sometimes
Our Intelligence Agencies Will Continue To Gather Information About The Intentions Of Governments - As Opposed To Ordinary Citizens - Around The World, In The Same Way That The Intelligence Services Of Every Other Nation Does. We Will Not Apologize Simply Because Our Services May Be More Effective.
Agency
Government
Nsa
Try To Be As Honest As Possible.
Trying
Honest
The Shadow Of Crisis Has Passed, And The State Of The Union Is Strong.
Strong
Shadow
Unions
My View Is That Discrimination Against Anyone At The Ballot Box Is Wrong And Should Have The Full Enforcement Of The Federal Government.
Government
Views
Should Have
I Don't Have A Philosophical Objection, Necessarily, To A Travel Ban If That Is The Thing That Is Going To Keep The American People Safe.
Philosophical
People
Safe
Secularists Are Wrong When They Ask Believers To Leave Their Religion At The Door Before Entering Into The Public Square. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryan, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King - Indeed, The Majority Of Great Reformers In American History - Were Not Only Motivated By Faith, But Repeatedly Used Religious Language To Argue For Their Cause. To Say That Men And Women Should Not Inject Their "personal Morality" Into Public Policy Debates Is A Practical Absurdity.
Religious
Kings
Men
I'm Really Excited About The Prospect Of A Woman President Of The United States.
President
United States
Excited
Mitt Romney Is Familiar With Jobs Being Shipped Overseas Because He Invested In Companies That Were Shipping Jobs Overseas.
Jobs
Shipping
Familiar
I'm No Longer Just A Candidate. I'm The President. I Know What It Means To Send Young Americans Into Battle, For I Have Held In My Arms The Mothers And Fathers Of Those Who Didn't Return. I've Shared The Pain Of Families Who've Lost Their Homes, And The Frustration Of Workers Who've Lost Their Jobs.
Mother
Jobs
Pain
If Everybody Voted, Then It Would Completely Change The Political Map In This Country.
Change
Country
Political
Black Children, White Children, Latino Children. America Is Becoming More Diverse, It's Becoming More Tolerant As A Consequence There's More Interactions Between Groups. There Are Going Be Tensions That Arise.
Children
White
America
One Thing Both Men Have In Common Is A Love Of Golf And A Shared Knowledge Of The Word "mulligan," Which Means A Do-over To Replace A Lousy Shot.
Mean
Golf
Men
Yes To Trade, But Trade That Ensures That These Other Countries That Trade With Us Aren't Engaging In Child Labor.
Country
Children
Child Labor
America Is, Is No Longer, Uh, What It, Uh, Could Be, Uh, What It Was Once Was, Uh, And I Say To Myself, Uh, I Don't Want That Future, Uh, For My Children.
Children
America
Want
America Is The Greatest Country On Earth. But Because Of Some Of The Mistakes That Have Been Made, We, I Think, Are Going To Have A Lot Of Work To Do In The Next Administration To Restore That Sense That America Is That Shining Beacon On A Hill.
Country
Mistake
Thinking
Don't Just Get Involved. Fight For Your Seat At The Table. Better Yet, Fight For A Seat At The Head Of The Table.
Inspirational
Graduation
Fighting
We Reaffirm That On Days Like This, There Are No Republicans Or Democrats. We Are Americans, United In Concern For Our Fellow Citizens.
Inspiring
Days Like This
Citizens
Climate Change Constitutes A Serious Threat To Global Security.
Climate
Serious
Threat
There Are So Many Errors And Misstatements In That List That I Won't Even Begin To Name Them. Obama Was Right About One Thing, Though - Islam Has Always Been A Part Of America's Story.
America
Errors
Names
If We Neglect Or Abandon Those Who Are Suffering In Poverty ... Not Only Are We Depriving Ourselves Of Potential Opportunities For Markets And Economic Growth, But Ultimately That Despair May Turn To Violence That Turns On Us.
Opportunity
Suffering
Growth
The Good News Is I Think There Are A Lot Of Young People Certainly Who Were Involved In My Campaigns, And I Think Continue To Be Involved In Work Not Just Politically, But Through Nonprofits And Other Organizations, That Can Carry This Hard Work Of Democracy Forward.
Hard Work
Thinking
Organization
The Fact Is Every Single Day In The Ordinary American People, America's Families Have To Make Decisions About Their Families And That Should Be Made By Them, Not By The Texas Or United States.
Texas
America
People
I Have Got To Figure Out A System Because I Have Bad Filing, Sorting, And Organizing Habits.
Habit
Figures
Sorting
Nations Are More Successful When Their Women Are Successful.
Successful
Nations
I Reserve The Right, As President Of The United States To Meet With Anybody At A Time And Place Of My Choosing If I Think It's Going To Keep America Safe.
Thinking
President
Isis Is A Virulent, Nasty Organization That Has Gained A Foothold In Ungoverned Spaces Effectively In Syria And Parts Of Western Iraq. We Have To Take It Seriously. They've Shown In Paris What They Can Do In An Organized Fashion.
Fashion
Isis
Organization
I Believe In Term Limits For Presidents Because I Think That There Is No Doubt I'm A Better President Now Than I Was When I Start.
Believe
Thinking
Doubt
We've Endured Too Many Tragedies. And Each Time I Learn The News I React Not As A President, But As Anybody Else Would - As A Parent.
Parent
Tragedy
President
When Bp Was Not Moving Fast Enough On Claims, We Told Bp To Set Aside $20 Billion In A Fund - Managed By An Independent Third Party - To Help All Those Whose Lives Have Been Turned Upside Down By The Spill.
Moving On
Party
Independent
The Opportunity Will Not Remain Open Indefinitely.
Opportunity
I Think It's True That We Shouldn't Apply A Strict Litmus Test And The Most Important Thing In Any Judge Is Their Capacity To Provide Fairness And Justice To The American People.
Thinking
Judging
People
In America, We Started The Public School System Very Early In The Century, And As A Consequence We Had More Skilled Workers Than Any Nation On Earth, Which Meant That We Were More Productive Than Any Nation On Earth.
School
America
Earth
There Will Be Setbacks And False Starts. There Are Many Who Won't Agree With Every Decision Or Policy I Make As President. And We Know The Government Can't Solve Every Problem. But I Will Always Be Honest With You About The Challenges We Face. I Will Listen To You, Especially When We Disagree. And, Above All, I Will Ask You To Join In The Work Of Remaking This Nation, The Only Way It's Been Done In America For 221 Years -- Block By Block, Brick By Brick, Calloused Hand By Calloused Hand.
Block
America
Government
If You Run You Stand A Chance Of Losing, But If You Don't Run You've Already Lost.
Inspirational
Change
Happiness
We Need To Reduce Our Dependence On Foreign Oil By Ending The Subsidies For Oil Companies, And Doubling Down On Clean Energy That Generates Jobs And Strengthens Our Security.
Jobs
Oil
Energy
Where The Stakes Are The Highest, In The War On Terror, We Cannot Possibly Succeed Without Extraordinary International Cooperation. Effective International Police Actions Require The Highest Degree Of Intelligence Sharing, Planning And Collaborative Enforcement.
War
Police
Succeed
We Right Now Give $15 Billion Every Year As Subsidies To Private Insurers Under The Medicare System. Doesn't Work Any Better Through The Private Insurers. They Just Skim Off $15 Billion.
Money
Years
Giving
I Think [ Chief Organizer Of The Democratic Party ] It's Something That I Have An Interest In.
Party
Thinking
Chiefs
We Will Not Hesitate To Speak Out When We See Actions That Contradict Those Values.
Speaks Out
Action
Speak
Iran's Supreme Court Has Issued A Fatwa Against The Development Of Nuclear Weapons. President [hassan] Rouhani Has Indicated Iran Will Never Develop Nuclear Weapons. I've Made Clear That We Respect The Right Of The Iranian People To Access Peaceful Nuclear Energy In The Context Of Iran Meeting Its Obligations.
Iran
People
Peaceful
I Will Veto Any Effort To Get Rid Of Those Automatic Spending Cuts To Domestic And Defense Spending. There Will Be No Easy Off Ramps On This One.
Cutting
Effort
Defense
The Violence Engulfing The Region Today Has Made Too Many Israelis Ready To Abandon The Hard Work Of Peace. But Let’s Be Clear: The Status Quo In The West Bank And Gaza Is Not Sustainable.
Hard Work
Reflection
Israel
We Are Not A Nation That Says 'don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We Are A Nation That Says 'out Of Many, We Are One.'
Asks
Nations
When I Ran For The U.s. Senate The Assumption Was That Anyone's Name That Was Close To "osama" Doesn't Stand A Chance. So If Somebody Thought That Tacking On "hussein" In There Would Be A Killer, Then I Think They Underestimate The American People And The Seriousness Of The Problems We Face.
Thinking
Names
People
I Bowled A 129... It Was Like The Special Olympics Or Something!
Stupid
Special
Racist
Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago.
Years
Trayvon
Could Have Been
No One Is Pro-abortion.
Life
Choices
Abortion
The Borders Of Israel And Palestine Should Be Based On The 1967 Lines With Mutually Agreed Swaps, So That Secure And Recognized Borders Are Established For Both States.
Israel
People
Borders
The Point Is Isil Leaders Cannot Hide. And Our Next Message To Them Is Simple - You Are Next.
Simple
Leader
Isil
What The American People Hope -– What They Deserve -– Is For All Of Us, Democrats And Republicans, To Work Through Our Differences; To Overcome The Numbing Weight Of Our Politics. For While The People Who Sent Us Here Have Different Backgrounds, Different Stories, Different Beliefs, The Anxieties They Face Are The Same. The Aspirations They Hold Are Shared: A Job That Pays The Bills; A Chance To Get Ahead; Most Of All, The Ability To Give Their Children A Better Life.
Jobs
Children
Differences
If We Don’t Uphold Our Constitution And Our Values, That Over Time, That Will Make Us Less Safe And That Will Be A Recruitment Tool For Organizations Like Al Qaeda. That’s What I Have To Keep My Eye On.
Eye
Organization
Tools
I Think That There's Gonna Be A Lot Of Work To Do In Order To Consolidate The Transformations That I Was Interested In.
Thinking
Order
Transformation
Today I Am Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office.
Cutting
Office
Broken Promises
We Believe That Big Nations Should Not Bully Smaller Nations, And That The Sovereignty Of Nations Must Be Respected. And We Have Long Urged That Disputes Be Resolved Peacefully, Including Through Mechanisms Like International Arbitration.
Believe
Long
Bully
If You’re Walking Down The Right Path And You’re Willing To Keep Walking, Eventually You’ll Make Progress.
Inspirational
Motivational
Inspiring
In The End, No Amount Of American Forces Can Solve The Political Differences That Lie At The Heart Of Somebody Else's Civil War.
War
Lying
Heart
Ultimately, I Remain Optimistic About Not Just America's Future, But The Direction That The World Is Growing.
Optimistic
America
World
We Cannot Continue To Rely Only On Our Military In Order To Achieve The National Security Objectives That We've Set. We've Got To Have A Civilian National Security Force That's Just As Powerful, Just As Strong, Just As Well-funded.
Strong
Powerful
Military
After My Election There Was Talk Of A Postracial America. And Such A Vision, However Well Intended, Was Never Realistic.
America
Vision
Election
We Live In A Culture That Discourages Empathy. A Culture That Too Often Tells Us Our Principle Goal In Life Is To Be Rich, Thin, Young, Famous, Safe, And Entertained.
Compassion
Goal
Empathy
In Addition To Giving Our Children The Science And Math Skills They Need To Compete In The New Global Context, We Should Also Encourage The Ability To Think Creatively That Comes From A Meaningful Arts Education.
Meaningful
Art
Children
Winter Came And The City [chicago] Turned Monochrome -- Black Trees Against Gray Sky Above White Earth. Night Now Fell In Midafternoon, Especially When The Snowstorms Rolled In, Boundless Prairie Storms That Set The Sky Close To The Ground, The City Lights Reflected Against The Clouds
Winter
Night
Clouds
And I Do Not Want, And I Will Not Accept, A Deal In Which I Am Asked To Do Nothing, In Fact, I'm Able To Keep Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Additional Income That I Don't Need, While A Parent Out There Who Is Struggling To Figure Out How To Send Their Kid To College Suddenly Finds That They've Got A Couple Thousand Dollars Less In Grants Or Student Loans.
Couple
Struggle
Kids
The Democrats Are As Concerned About Raising Our Kids And Making Sure That The Values Of Empathy And Hard Work And Discipline And Self-respect Are Instilled In Our Children, And I've Got A Six-year-old Daughter And A Three-year-old Daughter, And I'm Not Afraid To Talk About How I Want To Provide Them With The Sort Of Cultural Framework That's Going To Allow Them To Be Successful, Happy People.
Daughter
Children
Kids
I Don't Believe People Should To Be Able To Own Guns.
Believe
Gun
People
You Know, One Of The Things I Think You Understand As President Is You're Held Responsible For Everything, But You Don't Always Have Control Of Everything, Right?
Thinking
President
Responsible
Now That Iran's Actions Have Been Verified, It Can Begin To Receive Relief From Certain Nuclear Sanctions And Gain Access To Its Own Money That Had Been Frozen.
Iran
Relief
Nuclear
I Hope People Appreciate Chancellor Merkel Because, Although She Traditionally Is Considered Center-right And I'm Considered Center-left, The Truth Is That We Share Those Core Values, And Those Are Worth Protecting. As The Senior Leader In Europe, As The Leader Who's Been Longest Lasting, I Think She Has Great Credibility, And She Is Willing To Fight For Those Values. I'm Glad That She's There, And I Think The German People Should Appreciate Her. Certainly, I Have Appreciated Her As A Partner.
Senior
Fighting
Thinking
If You've Got A Business - You Didn't Build That.
Election
Presidential Election
Gangnam Style
But The Basic Principle That We’re Going To Have To See Some Of This Debt Written Down, That The Government Is Going To Have To Support Some Banks, That Others That Are Not Viable, Essentially That We’re Going To Have To Do Something With Those Assets.
Government
Support
Principles
The Biggest Deficit That We Have In Our Society And In The World Right Now Is An Empathy Deficit. We Are In Great Need Of People Being Able To Stand In Somebody Else's Shoes And See The World Through Their Eyes.
Eye
Shoes
People
I've Been To 57 States.
Politics
States
The Success Of Our Economy Has Always Depended Not Just On The Size Of Our Gross Domestic Product, But On The Reach Of Our Prosperity; On The Ability To Extend Opportunity To Every Willing Heart - Not Out Of Charity, But Because It Is The Surest Route To Our Common Good.
Heart
Opportunity
Charity
One Thing I Think We Have To Do Is To Make Sure That The Undocumented Workers Who Are Living In America Today, That They Have To Take Responsibility. They've Got To Register, Pay A Fine, Pay Their Back Taxes, Learn English And Then Get On A Pathway In Which They Could Have The Prospect Of Being Here Legally.
Responsibility
Thinking
America
My Job Is Not To Represent Washington To You, But To Represent You To Washington.
Jobs
Patriotic
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.
Running
Brother
Team
There Are Institutional Obligations I Have To Carry Out That Are Important For A President Of The United States To Carry Out, But May Not Always Align With What I Think Would Move The Ball Down The Field On The Issues That I Care Most Deeply About.
Moving
Thinking
Issues
Here In The United States, Hopefully, What We're Building Are Not Just Pyramids, Are Not Icons To One Pharaoh. What We're Building Is A Culture And A Way Of Living Together That We Can Look Back On And Say, [this] Was Good, Was Inclusive, Was Kind, Was Innovative, Was Able To Fulfill The Dreams Of As Many People As Possible.
Dream
Icons
Pyramids
It's A Moral Imperative, It's An Economic Imperative, And It Is A Security Imperative. For We've Seen How Spikes In Food Prices Can Plunge Millions Into Poverty, Which, In Turn, Can Spark Riots That Cost Lives, And Can Lead To Instability. And This Danger Will Only Grow If A Surging Global Population Isn't Matched By Surging Food Production. So Reducing Malnutrition And Hunger Around The World Advances International Peace And Security - And That Includes The National Security Of The United States.
United States
Population
Cost
My Administration Is Committed To Creating An Unprecedented Level Of Openness In Government.
Government
Creating
Broken Promises
In America, We Want A Peaceful Planet. We Want People To Be Able To Enjoy Their Lives And Know They're Going To Have A Bright And Prosperous Future, Not Be At War. That's Our Purpose.
War
Prosperous Future
America
In The Absence Of Sound Oversight,responsible Businesses Are Forced To Compete Against Unscrupulous And Underhanded Businesses, Who Are Unencumbered By Any Restrictions On Activities That Might Harm The Environment, Or Take Advantage Of Middle-class Families, Or Threaten To Bring Down The Entire Financial System.
Responsible Business
Class
Environmental
I Think That America Has To Stand With Democracy.
Thinking
America
Democracy
Generally Speaking In America, A Lot Of Environmentally Problematic Facilities Tend To Be Located In Places Where Poor Folks Live Because Wealthier Folks Have The Ability To Say, "not In My Backyard."
America
Backyards
Poor
So We Don't Need More Top-down Economics. We've Tried That Theory. We've Seen What Happens. We Can't Afford To Go Back To It.
Top Down
Needs
Economics
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.
Battle
Public Opinion
Campaigns
Take Off Your Bedroom Slippers, Put On Your Marching Shoes. Shake It Off. Stop Complaining, Stop Grumbling, Stop Crying. We Are Going To Press On. We’ve Got Work To Do.
Inspirational
Gratitude
Cheer
We, The People, Still Believe That Our Obligations As Americans Are Not Just To Ourselves, But To All Posterity. We Will Respond To The Threat Of Climate Change, Knowing That The Failure To Do So Would Betray Our Children And Future Generations. Some May Still Deny The Overwhelming Judgment Of Science, But None Can Avoid The Devastating Impact Of Raging Fires And Crippling Drought And More Powerful Storms.
Children
Powerful
Believe
I'm Not Saying I'm Impervious To Criticism.
Criticism
Impervious
All This Marked Them As Vaguely Liberal, Although Their Ideas Would Never Congeal Into Anything Like A Firm Ideology; In This, Too, They Were American.
Ideas
Firm
Ideology
I Do Think That All Politicians Today Have To Be More Attentive To People Wanting To Be Heard, Wanting To Have More Control Over Their Lives.
Thinking
People
Today
We Are The Change We Have Been Waiting For.
Change
Carpe Diem
Waiting
There Is A Certain Percentage Of The White Population ... If They Started Having More Middle-class Black Kids Who Are Friends With Their Kids, Eating Cheerios In Their Kitchen, Their Attitudes Start Changing.
Attitude
Kids
Class
I Think That One Of The Things That We All Agree To Is That The Touchstone For Economic Policy Is, Does It Allow The Average American To Find Good Employment And See Their Incomes Rise; That We Can't Just Look At Things In The Aggregate, We Do Want To Grow The Pie, But We Want To Make Sure That Prosperity Is Spread Across The Spectrum Of Regions And Occupations And Genders And Races; And That Economic Policy Should Focus On Growing The Pie, But It Also Has To Make Sure That Everybody Has Got Opportunity In That System.
Opportunity
Thinking
Race
That's When America Soars, When We Look Out For One Another And We Take Care Of Each Other, When We Root For One Another's Success, When We Strive To Do Better And To Be Better Than The Generation That Came Before Us And Try To Build Something Better For Generations To Come, That's Why We Do What We Do. That's The Whole Point Of Public Service.
Success
Roots
America
We're Opposing Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine, Which Is A Threat To The World, As We Saw In The Appalling Shoot-down Of Mh17.
Memorable
Ukraine
Russia
I Think That [having Not A Lot Of Time Sweating The Details] Can Be Both A Strength And A Weakness. I Think It Depends On How [donald Trump] Approaches It. If It Gives Him Fresh Eyes, Then That Can Be Valuable. But It Also Requires You Knowing What You Don't Know And Putting In Place People Who Do Have The Kinds Of Experience And Background And Knowledge That Can Inform Good Decision Making.
Eye
Thinking
Knowing
Now, I Know That He's Taken Some Flak Lately, But No One Is Prouder To Put This Birth Certificate To Rest Than The Donald. Now He Can Get To Focusing On The Issues That Matter. Like, Did We Fake The Moon Landing? What Really Happened In Roswell? And Where Are Biggie And Tupac?
Taken
Moon
Issues
It's Time To Recognize That Under The Equal Protection Clause Of The United States [constitution], Same-sex Couples Should Have The Same Rights As Anybody Else.
Sex
Couple
Should Have
Will Not Collect A Ransom In Exchange For Not Crashing The American Economy.
Ransom
Economy
American Economy
If You Look At Libya, I Was Deeply Concerned About What Would Happen After Qaddafi Was Gone.
Looks
Gone
Libya
The United States Is Doing Our Part By Increasing The Number Of Refugees We Resettle And I Want Again To Commend Angela [merkel], And More Importantly, The German People For The Extraordinary Leadership And Compassion That You Have Shown In The Face Of What I Know Is A Very Difficult Challenge.
Compassion
Numbers
People
Those Jeans Are Comfortable, And For Those Of You Who Want Your President To Look Great In His Tight Jeans, I'm Sorry I'm Not The Guy. It Just Doesn't Fit Me. I'm Not 20.
Hilarious
Sorry
Jeans
Keeping Our Military Strong Means Keepin' Our Families Strong.
Strong
Military
Mean
What You Saw Was The People Of New York Having A Debate, Talking Through These Issues. It Was Contentious. It Was Emotional. But Ultimately, They Made A Decision To Recognize Civil Marriage. And I Think That's Exactly How Things Should Work.
New York
Emotional
Thinking
I Do Believe, Separate And Apart From Any Particular Election Or Movement, That We Are Going To Have To Guard Against A Rise In A Crude Sort Of Nationalism Or Ethnic Identity Or Tribalism That Is Built Around An Us And A Them.
Believe
Identity
Movement
A Person’s Zip Code Shouldn’t Decide Their Destiny.
Destiny
Zips
Code
Senator Joe Biden Is Pretty Clean And Articulate For A White Guy.
White
Guy
Biden
We Don't Turn Back. We Leave No One Behind. We Pull Each Other Up. We Draw Strength From Our Victories, And We Learn From Our Mistakes, But We Keep Our Eyes Fixed On That Distant Horizon, But We Keep Our Eyes Fixed On That Distant Horizon, Knowing That Providence Is With Us, And That We Are Surely Blessed To Be Citizens Of The Greatest Nation On Earth.
Mistake
Blessed
Eye
We Worship An Awesome God In The Blue States, And We Don't Like Federal Agents Poking Around Our Libraries In The Red States. We Coach Little League In The Blue States And Have Gay Friends In The Red States.
Friends
Gay
Blue
What I Could Not Support Was A Dumb War, A Rash War, A War Based Not On Reason But On Passion, Not On Principle But On Politics.
War
Passion
Support
When I Touched My Hand Against The Western Wall And Placed My Prayer Between Its Ancient Stones, I Thought Of All The Centuries That The Children Of Israel Had Longed To Return To Their Ancient Homeland. When I Went To Sderot And Saw The Daily Struggle To Survive In The Eyes Of An Eight-year-old Boy Who Lost His Leg To A Hamas Rocket, And When I Walked Among The Hall Of Names At Yad Vashem, I Was Reminded Of The Existential Fear Of Israelis When A Modern Dictator Seeks Nuclear Weapons And Threatens To Wipe Israel Off The Face Of The Map - Face Of The Earth.
Prayer
Children
Wall
American Values And Legal Traditions Do Not Permit The Indefinite Detention Of People Beyond Our Borders.
People
Borders
Tradition
Let Us Each Of Us Now Embrace With Solemn Duty, And Awesome Joy, What Is Our Lasting Birthright. With Common Effort And Common Purpose, With Passion And Dedication, Let Us Answer The Call Of History And Carry Into An Uncertain Future That Precious Light Of Freedom.
Passion
Dedication
Common Purpose
We Created A Whole Lot Of Millionaires To Boot. Businesses Did Just Fine. And You Know There Are Plenty Of Patriotic, Successful Americans All Across The Country -- I Meet Them Every Day -- Who'd Be Willing To Make This Contribution Again Because They Understand There Is Such A Thing As The Common Good. They Understand That We're In This Thing Together.
Country
Patriotic
Successful
That's Part Of What I Tried To Describe To My Team And Supporters After The Election, There Was A Lot Of Disappointment.
Disappointment
Team
Election
There's Something About The American Spirit -– Inherent In The American Spirit -- We Don't Hang On To The Past. We Always Move Forward.... We Are Going To Leave Something Better For Our Children –- Not Just Here In The United States, But All Around The World.
Children
Moving
Past
With The Magnitude Of The Challenges We Face Right Now, What We Need In Washington Are Not More Political Tactics, We Need More Good Ideas. We Don't Need More Point Scoring, We Need More Problem Solving.
Ideas
Political
Challenges
The Greatest Danger Of All Is To Allow New Walls To Divide Us From One Another
Inspiring
Wall
Danger
Anybody Who Gets Into Bed And Turns Out The Lights The First Night In The White House Probably Feels A Little Bit Of A Start, Where You Say, "goodness ... "
Night
White
Light
I Think That There's A Power In That [information Through Tweets And Sound Bites ]. There's Also A Danger, What Generates A Headline Or Stirs Up A Controversy And Gets Attention Isn't The Same As The Process Required To Actually Solve The Problem.
Thinking
Sound
Attention
The Russians Don't Make Determinations About What Our Defense Posture Is.
Determination
Defense
Posture
All Americans Should Be Deeply Troubled By The Fatal Shootings Of Alton Sterling In Baton Rouge, Louisiana And Philando Castile In Falcon Heights, Minnesota. We've Seen Such Tragedies Far Too Many Times, And Our Hearts Go Out To The Families And Communities Who've Suffered Such A Painful Loss.
Heart
Loss
Community
I Never Regret Anything... I Just Lie About It Or Change The Story.
Regret
Lying
Stories
Unless You're One Of The First Americans, A Native American, You Came From Someplace Else. Somebody Brought You.
Native American
Firsts
Native
I Insist On The Dignity And God- Given Potential And Work Of Every Child, Regardless Of Race Or Gender Or Sexual Orientation Or What Zip Code They Were Born In.
Children
Race
Zips
If There's A Senior Citizen In Downstate Illinois That's Struggling To Pay For Their Medicine And Having To Chose Between Medicine And The Rent, That Makes My Life Poorer Even If It's Not My Grandparent.
Senior
Struggle
Illinois
It Would Be Good For The Workers In Vietnam Even As It Helps Make Sure That They're Not Undercutting Competition Here In The United States.
Competition
Would Be
Vietnam
On Easter I Do Reflect On The Fact That As A Christian I Am Supposed To Love, And I Have To Say That Sometimes, When I've Listened To Less-than-loving Expressions By Christians, I Get Concerned.
Love
Christian
Easter
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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