I Kept Finding The Same Anguish, The Same Doubt; A Self-contempt That Neither Irony Nor Intellect Seemed Able To Deflect. Even Dubois’s Learning And Baldwin’s Love And Langston’s Humor Eventually Succumbed To Its Corrosive Force, Each Man Finally Forced To Doubt Art’s Redemptive Power, Each Man Finally Forced To Withdraw, One To Africa, One To Europe, One Deeper Into The Bowels Of Harlem, But All Of Them In The Same Weary Flight, All Of Them Exhausted, Bitter Men, The Devil At Their Heels.

-Barack Obama

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I Kept Finding The

Barack Obama

Topic

Art

Men

Self

More From Barack Obama

Climate Change Constitutes A Serious Threat To Global Security, An Immediate Risk To Our National Security, And, Make No Mistake, It Will Impact How Our Military Defends Our Country.

Country

Military

Mistake

The Government Has To Treat All Citizens Equally. I Am A Strong Supporter Not Of A Weak Version Of Civil Unions, But Of A Strong Version, In Which The Rights That Are Conferred At The Federal Level To Persons Who Are Part Of The Same-sex Union Are Compatible. When It Comes To Federal Rights, The Over 1,100 Rights That Right Now Are Not Being Given To Same-sex Couples, I Think That's Unacceptable.

Strong

Sex

Couple

What I'm Thinking About Are The Millions Of People, Many Of Whom Write Me Very Personal Letters :"dear Mr. President: I Did Not Vote For You. I Was Against Obamacare. And Then My Son Who Didn't Have Health Insurance Signed Up And We Just Found Out That He Had An Illness. And Thankfully He's Now Covered, Otherwise He Might Not Have Gotten Treatment And I Might Have Lost My House."

Writing

Son

Thinking

Ramadan Is A Celebration Of A Faith Known For Great Diversity And Racial Equality.

Muslim Faith

Diversity

Mind Blowing

Keeping Our Military Strong Means Keepin' Our Families Strong.

Strong

Military

Mean

So While An Incredible Amount Of Progress Has Been Made, On This Fifth Anniversary, I Wanted To Come Here And Tell The People Of This City Directly: My Administration Is Going To Stand With You - And Fight Alongside You - Until The Job Is Done. Until New Orleans Is All The Way Back, All The Way.

Anniversary

Jobs

Fighting

I Will Stand With Israel If They Are Attacked.

Israel

Ifs

Four Years Ago, I Promised To End The War In Iraq. We Did. I Promised To Refocus On The Terrorists Who Actually Attacked Us On 9/11. We Have. We've Blunted The Taliban's Momentum In Afghanistan, And In 2014, Our Longest War Will Be Over. A New Tower Rises Above The New York Skyline, Al Qaeda Is On The Path To Defeat, And Osama Bin Laden Is Dead.

Inspirational

New York

War

When People Are Oppressed, And Human Rights Are Denied - Particularly Along Sectarian Lines Or Ethnic Lines - When Dissent Is Silenced, It Feeds Violent Extremism, It Creates An Environment That Is Ripe For Terrorists To Exploit. When Peaceful, Democratic Change Is Impossible, It Feeds Into The Terrorist Propaganda That Violence Is The Only Answer Available.

Change

Rights

People

We Can Seize This Future Together Because We Are Not As Divided As Our Politics Suggests.

Together

Politics

Futures Together

As President, I Decided That A Strong, Confident America Could Advance Our National Security By Engaging Directly With The Iranian Government. We've Seen The Results.

Strong

Government

America

My First Job As Commander In Chief Is To Keep The American People Safe.

Jobs

People

Safe

We Do Need To Make Sure That We Have An Orderly, Lawful Immigration Process.

Immigration

Needs

Process

We Can't Just Drill Our Way Out Of The Energy And Climate Challenge That We Face.

Challenges

Way

Faces

There Is No Shame In Confusion Or Fear. "there Was Only Shame In The Silence Fear Had Produced. . . . It Was The Silence That Betrayed Us."

Confusion

Silence

Grace

We Consume About 25 Percent Of The World's Oil. We Only Have 2 Percent Of The Reserves.

Oil

World

Percent

To Avoid Being Mistaken For A Sellout, I Chose My Friends Carefully. The More Politically Active Black Students. The Foreign Students. The Chicanos. The Marxist Professors And Structural Feminists And Punk-rock Performance Poets.

Friends

Leather Jackets

Rocks

I Reject Discrimination Against Muslim Americans - Who Are Just As Patriotic As We Are.

Patriotic

Discrimination

Rejects

The Key Is Whether Or Not We Have Got Priorities That Are Working For You, As Opposed To Those Who Have Been Dictating The Policy In Washington Lately. And That's Mostly Lobbyists And Special Interests. We Have Got To Put An End To That.

Priorities

Special

Interest

I Am Going To Be Able To Present To The Incoming Administration A Country That Is Stronger. A Federal Government That Is Working Better And More Efficiently. A National Security Apparatus That Is Both More Effective And Truer To Our Values. Energy Policies That Are Resulting In Not Just Less Pollution, But Also More Jobs.

Country

Jobs

Government

I Would Meet Directly With The Leadership In Iran.

Iran

Diplomacy

A Budget Is More Than Just A Series Of Numbers On A Page; It Is An Embodiment Of Our Values.

Numbers

Embodiment

Pages

Building New Roads And Bridges Creates Jobs. Growing Our Exports Creates Jobs. Reforming Our Outdated Tax System And Our Broken Immigration System Creates Jobs.

Jobs

Bridges

Broken

I Didn't Set A Red Line, The World Set A Red Line

World

Lines

Red

America Isn't Congress. America Isn't Washington. America Is The Striving Immigrant Who Starts A Business, Or The Mom Who Works Two Low-wage Jobs To Give Her Kid A Better Life. America Is The Union Leader And The Ceo Who Put Aside Their Differences To Make The Economy Stronger.

Mom

Jobs

Kids

If You Don't Have Any Fresh Ideas, Then You Use Stale Tactics To Scare The Voters. If You Don't Have A Record To Run On, Then You Paint Your Opponent As Someone People Should Run From. You Make A Big Election About Small Things.

Running

Ideas

People

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

The President Does Not Have Power Under The Constitution To Unilaterally Authorize A Military Attack In A Situation That Does Not Involve Stopping An Actual Or Imminent Threat To The Nation.

Military

President

Doe

Letting The Free Market Do Whatever It Wants. That's Not Been Historically How We Grow. We Have To Invest In Education, In Rebuilding Broadband Lines And Roads And Runways, And It's Important That We Bring Back American Manufacturing And Regulations To Prevent Consumers From Being Cheated.

Important

Lines

Want

I Think It's A Healthy Thing For The Democratic Party To Go Through Some Reflection.

Party

Reflection

Thinking

You're Going To Face A Choice In November. This Is A Choice Between The Policies That Got Us Into This Mess In The First Place And The Policies That Got Us Out Of This Mess - And What The Other Side Is Counting On Is People Not Having A Good Memory.

Memories

People

Choices

I Think Sometimes Europe May Take For Granted The Extraordinary Progress That's Been Made Over The Last 40, 50 Years. I Recognize That Sometimes There Is Great Frustration That Arises Out Of The Euro Zone Or Out Of The Eu.

Frustration

Thinking

Years

Jesus Lived A Life Of Peace, Love, Kindness And Forgiveness, During The Hustle And Bustle Of The Christmas Season, May We All Do Our Best To Follow His Example.

Love

Life

Forgiveness

We Don't Quit. I Don't Quit. Let's Seize This Moment.

Quitting

Moments

I Think Raising Wages, Investing In Infrastructure, Making Sure That People Have Access To Good Educations That Equip Them For The Jobs Of The Future. Those Are All Agenda Items That Would Help Alleviate Some Of Those Economic Pressures And Dislocations That People Are Experiencing. The Problem Was I Couldn't Convince The Republican Congress To Pass A Lot Of Them.

Jobs

Thinking

People

To Keep Nigeria One, Is A Task That Must Be Done.

Tasks

Done

Nigeria

One Of The Things I Think I Can Bring To The Presidency Is To Make Government And Public Service Cool Again.

Powerful

Thinking

Government

It Is Very Rare I Come To An Event Where I’m Like The Fifth Or Sixth Most Interesting Person.

Interesting

Events

Fifth

Our Stories May Be Singular, But Our Destination Is Shared.

Stories

May

Destination

I Am Not Opposed To All Wars. I'm Opposed To Dumb Wars.

War

Dumb

Antiwar

We Have Greater Awareness Of Where We're Falling Short Than We Used To. Just Take The Example Of Community Police Relations.

Fall

Community

Police

I Didn't Have A Perfect Model, But I Wanted To Try To Blend My Own Personal Reflections And Experiences With This Broader Canvas To See How A Lot Of The Narratives We Have About Economy And Foreign Policy Got Stuck. Because We Have These Categories Of Liberal, Conservative, Free Marketer, Open Government - All These Stereotypes About Our Politics And The Categories We Try To Put Things In Are Inadequate To This Sort Of Complex, Ambiguous, Sometimes Contradictory Experience We Have As Ordinary People And That I Have As An Elected Official.

Reflection

Government

Perfect

[our Troops In Iraq And Afganistan] Does Give Us The Ability To Make Sure That We Are Strengthening Those Folk Who Are Interested In Building Up Their Countries Rather Than Destroying Them, And Doing So In A Way That Is Sustainable And Doesn't Put A Constant Burden On The Amazing Men And Women That We've Got In Uniform.

Country

Men

Building Up

They Say I Need To Be Seasoned; They Say I Need To Be Stewed. They Say, 'we Need To Boil All The Hope Out Of Him -- Like Us -- And Then He'll Be Ready.'

Needs

Ready

I've Been Fighting With Acorn, Alongside Acorn, On Issues You Care About, My Entire Career.

Fighting

Careers

Issues

The True Test Of The American Ideal Is Whether We're Able To Recognize Our Failings And Then Rise Together To Meet The Challenges Of Our Time. Whether We Allow Ourselves To Be Shaped By Events And History, Or Whether We Act To Shape Them. Whether Chance Of Birth Or Circumstance Decides Life's Big Winners And Losers, Or Whether We Build A Community Where, At The Very Least, Everyone Has A Chance To Work Hard, Get Ahead, And Reach Their Dreams.

Dream

Humility

Hard Work

What We've Said To The Girls Is: 'if You Guys Ever Decide That You're Going To Get A Tattoo, Then Mommy And Me Will Get The Exact Same Tattoo, In The Same Place.' And We'll Go On Youtube And Show It Off As A Family Tattoo.

Tattoo

Girl

Guy

We Ask For Nothing More Than The Chance To Blaze Our Own Trail, And Yet Each Of Us Is Only Here Because Somebody, Somewhere, Helped Us Find Our Path. That`s Part Of What Makes America Exceptional. We Are Family And We`ll Do Anything To Help Each Other Along The Way.

America

Way

Path

Too Often, We Have Failed To Enforce International Norms When It's Inconvenient To Do So.

Norm

International

Inconvenient

We Cannot Tolerate A Nuclear Iran. It Would Be A Game Changer. Not Only Would It Threaten Israel, A Country That Is Our Stalwart Ally, But It Would Also Create An Environment In Which You Could Set Off An Arms Race In This Middle East.

Country

Environment

Tolerate

Nobody Cares How Tough Your Upbringing Was. Nobody Cares If You Suffered Some Discrimination.

Care

Tough

Discrimination

Rather Than Pointing Fingers Or Assigning Blame, Let’s Use This Occasion To Expand Our Moral Imaginations, To Listen To Each Other More Carefully, To Sharpen Our Instincts For Empathy And Remind Ourselves Of All The Ways That Our Hopes And Dreams Are Bound Together.

Dream

Imagination

Empathy

Iran's Nuclear Program . . . There Was Going To Be A Time Limit . . .

Iran

Nuclear

Limits

Winnie The Pooh Seems To Me To Be A Fundamental Text On National Security.

Fundamentals

Stupid Liberal

National Security

We Want Our Children To Live In An America...that Isn't Threatened By The Destructive Power Of A Warming Planet.

Children

World

Want

What I Believe Unites The People Of This Nation, Regardless Of Race Or Region Or Party, Young Or Old, Rich Or Poor, Is The Simple, Profound Belief In Opportunity For All - The Notion That If You Work Hard And Take Responsibility, You Can Get Ahead.

Party

Believe

Responsibility

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

Torture Is How You Create Enemies, Not How You Defeat Them.

Enemy

Defeat

Torture

When It Comes To Crime, The Violent Crime Rate In America Has Been Lowered During My Presidency And Any Time In The Last Three, Four Decades.

America

Three

Four

Let's Say I'm On The Policy Wonk End Of The Spectrum. As Much As I Can Dive Into A Briefing Book And Really Work To Master Various Subjects That Come Before My Desk, I'm Still Not An Expert On A Huge Amount Of The Stuff That We Work On.

Book

Experts

Stuff

I'll Remember The View Out This Window [from Oval Cabinet], Because This Is Where We Had Our - The Playground That We Put In When Malia And Sasha Came In. Being Able Every Once In Awhile To Look Out The Window And See Your Daughters During The Summer, Swinging On That Swing Set, That Made The Presidency A Little Bit Sweeter.

Summer

Daughter

Views

I Want To Make Sure That As President Of The United States That I'm Not Asserting In Some Way That My Decisions Overrule The Decisions Of Prosecutors Who Are There To Uphold The Law.

Law

Decision

President

If Poverty Is A Disease That Infects The Entire Community In The Form Of Unemployment And Violence, Failing Schools And Broken Homes, Then We Can't Just Treat Those Symptoms In Isolation . We Have To Heal That Entire Community.

Healing

Home

School

Nobody Said Democracies Supposed To Be Easy. It's Hard. And In A Big Country Like America, It Probably Should Be Hard.

Country

America

Democracy

If You Look At Sort Of How Politics Has Divided Itself Here In This Country, The Big Divide Right Now Is Between Urban Areas, Which Have Become Increasingly Democratic, And Rural Or Exurban Areas That Feel As If They're Being Ignored.

Country

Being Ignored

Looks

I Don't Think [pot] Is More Dangerous Than Alcohol.

Weed

Marijuana

Thinking

The Last Thing That I Want To Do Is To Have The United States Be A Foil.

United States

Want

Lasts

If You're Saying That Prime Minister [benjamin] Netanyahu Got Fired Up, He's Been Fired Up Repeatedly During The Course Of My Presidency, Around The Iran Deal And Around Our Consistent Objection To Settlements.

Iran

Prime

Ministers

Our Founding Fathers, Faced With Perils We Can Scarcely Imagine, Drafted A Charter To Assure The Rule Of Law And The Rights Of Man, A Charter Expanded By The Blood Of Generations. Those Ideals Still Light The World, And We Will Not Give Them Up For Expedience's Sake.

Father

Men

Rights

We Have The Power To Make The World We Seek, But Only If We Have The Courage To Make A New Beginning.

New Beginnings

World

Environment

What We Can Be Scientifically Certain Of Is That Our Continued Use Of Fossil Fuels Is Pushing Us To A Point Of No Return

Use

Fuel

Fossils

I Take The Constitution Very Seriously. The Biggest Problems That We're Facing Right Now Have To Do With [the President] Trying To Bring More And More Power Into The Executive Branch And Not Go Through Congress At All. And That's What I Intend To Reverse When I'm President Of The United States Of America.

America

Trying

President

You Know, When Trayvon Martin Was First Shot I Said That This Could Have Been My Son. Another Way Of Saying That Is Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago. And When You Think About Why, In The African American Community At Least, There's A Lot Of Pain Around What Happened Here, I Think It's Important To Recognize That The African American Community Is Looking At This Issue Through A Set Of Experiences And A History That Doesn't Go Away.

Pain

Son

Thinking

The Warren Court Wasn't That Radical. It Didn't Break Free From The Essential Constraints That Were Placed By The Founding Fathers In The Constitution... I Intend To Succeed Where They Failed.

Father

Succeed

Essentials

Tonight, More Americans Are Out Of Work And More Are Working Harder For Less. More Of You Have Lost Your Homes And Even More Are Watching Your Home Values Plummet. More Of You Have Cars You Can't Afford To Drive, Credit Card Bills You Can't Afford To Pay, And Tuition That's Beyond Your Reach.

Money

Home

Car

There’s Only One Thing We Can Be Sure Of, And That Is The Love That We Have -- For Our Children, For Our Families, For Each Other. The Warmth Of A Small Child’s Embrace -- That Is True. The Memories We Have Of Them, The Joy That They Bring, The Wonder We See Through Their Eyes, That Fierce And Boundless Love We Feel For Them, A Love That Takes Us Out Of Ourselves, And Binds Us To Something Larger -- We Know That’s What Matters. We Know We’re Always Doing Right When We’re Taking Care Of Them, When We’re Teaching Them Well, When We’re Showing Acts Of Kindness. We Don’t Go Wrong When We Do That.

Children

Memories

Kindness

Isil Is A Terrorist Organization, Pure And Simple. And It Has No Vision Other Than The Slaughter Of All Who Stand In Its Way.

Simple

Organization

Vision

Keep In Mind That, When I Came In, We Had Had A Crisis That Was The Worst We've Seen Since The 1930s, And Working With People Like Chancellor Merkel, Working With The G-20 And Other Institutions Internationally, We Were Able To Stabilize The Financial System, Stabilize The Us Economy And Return To Growth.

People

Growth

Mind

We've Been Able To Organize The International Community Around It In Ways That Aren't Going To Go Back.

Community

Able

Way

The Number Of Americans Killed Since 9/11 By Terrorism, It's Less Than 100. If You Look At The Number That Have Been Killed By Gun Violence, It's In The Tens Of Thousands. And For Us Not To Be Able To Resolve That Issue Has Been Something That Is Distressing.

Gun

Numbers

Issues

I Would Say This, I'll Go Back To Those Black Ladies I Was Talking About Who Love Them Some Barack And Love Michelle Even More - And By The Way, They Are Not Middle-aged Anymore, Because I'm Now Middle-aged. So They're A Little Bit Older. As Fervent As They Were, As Excited And Happy As They Were When I Was Elected, They Had To Go To Work The Next Morning. They Still Had Trouble Paying Those Bills. They Might Have Still Had A Son Who Was In Trouble With The Law Or Couldn't Get A Job Because Of A Felony Record. They Didn't Stop Being Grounded.

Morning

Jobs

Son

I've Been Keeping My Own Naughty And Nice List For Washington.

Nice

Naughty

Lists

That's Silly Talk... Talk To My Wife. She'll Tell Me I Need To Learn To Just Put My Socks On The Hamper.

Silly

Wife

Needs

You Will Not See Any Of Your Taxes Increase One Single Dime.

Dimes

Increase

Taxes

We Are The Change We Have Been Waiting For.

Change

Carpe Diem

Waiting

The Asia Pacific Is Home To Nearly Half The World's Population, A Growing Middle Class And Holds So Much Opportunity For Us All.

Home

Opportunity

Class

There Is No Individual Salvation Without Collective Salvation

Interesting

Individual

Salvation

If We Think That We Can Secure Our Country By Just Talking Tough Without Acting Tough And Smart, Then We Will Misunderstand This Moment And Miss Its Opportunities. If We Think That We Can Use The Same Partisan Playbook Where We Just Challenge Our Opponent's Patriotism To Win An Election, Then The American People Will Lose. The Times Are Too Serious For This Kind Of Politics.

Country

Smart

Winning

If We Want America To Stay On The Cutting Edge, We Need Young Americans To Master The Tools And Technology That Will Change The Way We Do Just About Everything.

Cutting

Technology

America

Now, Some Have Said I Blame Too Many Problems On My Predecessor, But Let's Not Forget That's A Practice That Was Initiated By George W. Bush.

Practice

Blame

Problem

Unemployment Is Low, Incomes Are Up, Poverty Is Down - And That's Going To Be A Lasting Change.

Lasting Change

Low Income

Unemployment

[american Citizenship] Captures The Enduring Idea That This Country Only Works When We Accept Certain Obligations To One Another And To Future Generations

Country

Ideas

Generations

I Wonder, Sometimes, Whether Men And Women In Fact Are Capable Of Learning From History--whether We Progress From One Stage To The Next In An Upward Course Or Whether We Just Ride The Cycles Of Boom And Bust, War And Peace, Ascent And Decline.

War

Men

Progress

I Refuse To Leave Our Children With A Debt That They Cannot Repay.

Children

Broken Promises

Debt

It Is Time To Put In Place Tough, New Common-sense Rules Of The Road So That Our Financial Market Rewards Drive And Innovation, And Punishes Short-cuts And Abuse.

Cutting

Common Sense

Innovation

As The United States Begins A New Chapter In Our Relationship With Cuba, We Hope It Will Create An Environment That Improves The Lives Of The Cuban People, Not Because It Is Imposed By Us, The United States, But Through The Talent And Ingenuity And Aspirations, And The Conversations Among Cubans From All Walks Of Life So They Can Decide What The Best Course Is For Their Prosperity.

Life

People

United States

Our Challenges May Be New. The Instruments With Which We Meet Them May Be New. But Those Values Upon Which Our Success Depends -- Honesty And Hard Work, Courage And Fair Play, Tolerance And Curiosity, Loyalty And Patriotism -- These Things Are Old. These Things Are True. They Have Been The Quiet Force Of Progress Throughout Our History. What Is Demanded, Then, Is A Return To These Truths.

Loyalty

Honesty

Hard Work

In The Past, There Have Been A Range Of Treaties That Divided Congress And Every Administration Was Able To Get Them Through.

Past

Able

Administration

When Any Kind Of Military Action Is Popular It's Because Either There's Been A Very Clear, Direct Threat To Us - 9/11 - Or An Administration Uses Various Hooks To Suggest That American Interests Were Directly Threatened - Like In Panama Or Grenada. And Sometimes, Those Hooks Are More Persuasive Than Others, But Typically, They're Not Put Before Congress.

Military

Hook

Action

The Campaign Was A More Significant Training Ground Than I Think People Give It Credit For. By The Time I Got Here, I Think I Had A Pretty Good Sense Of What Was Required. But The Circumstances In Which I Came In Were Different Than Most Executives, Right? The Enterprise Was In The Midst Of A Major Crisis.

Thinking

People

Giving

If You're A Progressive, You've Got To Be Worried About How The Federal Government Is Spending Its Revenue, Because We Don't Have Enough Money To Spend On Things Like Early Childhood Education That Are So Important.

Government

Childhood

Important

We Will Finish The Race.

Running

Race

Be Conscious Of God And Speak Always The Truth.

Speak

Conscious

Ninety-eight Percent Of All American Companies Have Fewer Than 100 Employees. Over Half Of All Americans Work For A Small Business. Small Businesses Are The Backbone Of Our Nation’s Economy And We Must Protect This Great Resource.....helping American Small Business Is Part Of Our Movement For Change And The End Of Politics As Usual.

Eight

Usual

Movement

Occasionally I Would Like The German People To Give Us The Benefit Of The Doubt, Given Our History, As Opposed To Assuming The Worst -- Assuming That We Have Been Consistently Your Strong Partners And That We Share A Common Set Of Values.

Strong

People

Giving

Cutting Benefits Is Not The Right Answer. Raising The Retirement Age Is Not The Best Option.

Retirement

Cutting

Age

It's Time To Put Country Ahead Of Party. It's Time To Put The Next Generation Ahead Of The Next Election.

Education

Country

Party

I Think Perhaps Education Doesn’t Do Us Much Good Unless It Is Mixed With Sweat.

Thinking

Sweat

The System Isn't Working When 12 Million People Live In Hiding, And Hundreds Of Thousands Cross Our Borders Illegally Each Year; When Companies Hire Undocumented Immigrants Instead Of Legal Citizens To Avoid Paying Overtime Or To Avoid A Union; When Communities Are Terrorized By Ice Immigration Raids -- When Nursing Mothers Are Torn From Their Babies, When Children Come Home From School To Find Their Parents Missing, When People Are Detained Without Access To Legal Counsel. When All That's Happening, The System Just Isn't Working.

Mother

Baby

Children

In This New, Hyper Competitive Age, None Of Us, None Of Us Can Afford To Be Complacent.

Age

Complacent

Hyper

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

Maybe You Could Be A Great Writer - Maybe Even Good Enough To Write A Book Or Articles In A Newspaper - But You Might Not Know It Until You Write That English Paper - That English Class Paper That's Assigned To You.

Book

Writing

Class

When You're Out Of Work And You Can't Buy A Home Or You've Lost Your Home And You're Worried About Paying Your Bills, Then You Become More Worried About What Other Folks Are Doing. And Sometimes That Organizes Itself Around Kind Of A Tribal Attitude, And Issues Of Race Become More Prominent.

Attitude

Home

Race

That Is The Story Of Our History - Whether It's The Pursuit Of Prosperity For Our People Or The Struggle For Equality For All Of Our Citizens, Our Commitment To Stand Up For Our Values Abroad, And Our Sacrifices To Make The World A Safer Place. Let Us Remember That We Can Do These Things Not Just Because Of Wealth Or Power, But Because Of Who We Are. One Nation Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For All.

Struggle

Commitment

Sacrifice

With Only 2 Percent Of The World's Oil Reserves, Oil Isn't Enough. This Country Needs An All-out, All-of-the-above Strategy That Develops Every Available Source Of American Energy. A Strategy That's Cleaner, Cheaper, And Full Of New Jobs.

For Now, Decisions Are Upon Us And We Cannot Afford Delay. We Cannot Mistake Absolutism For Principle Or Substitute Spectacle For Politics, Or Treat Name-calling As Reasoned Debate.

Mistake

Names

Decision

Change Will Not Come If We Wait For Some Other Person Or Some Other Time. We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For. We Are The Change That We Seek.

Inspirational

Motivational

Change

Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago.

Years

Trayvon

Could Have Been

What I Worry About Would Be That You Essentially Have Two Chambers, The House And The Senate, But You Have Simply, Majoritarian, Absolute Power On Either Side. And That's Just Not What The Founders Intended.

Government

Two

Worry

It Requires Enormous Energy For Us To Cut The African American Uninsured Rate By A Third. A Lot Of Scars.

Cutting

African American

Energy

Ultimately, The Challenges Of The 21st Century Can't Be Met Without Collective Action. Agreement Will Almost Never Be Easy, And Results Won't Always Come Quickly. But I Am Committed To Respecting Different Points Of View, And To Forging A Consensus Instead Of Dictating Our Terms... That's How We Will Advance And Uphold Our Ideals.

Views

Agreement

Challenges

We Will Not Hesitate To Speak Out When We See Actions That Contradict Those Values.

Speaks Out

Action

Speak

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

The Other Reason Might Be That You Want To Talk To Voters When You've Got Seven Primaries In Seven Days. Understand What's Happened In This Race - Where We Campaign Actively In A State, And Voters Have The Chance To See Me Directly, They Check Under The Hood, And They Kick The Tires, When We Don't Have As Much Time.

Race

Campaigns

Want

We've Achieved This Historic Progress Through Diplomacy, Without Resorting To Another War In The Middle East. I Want To Also Point Out That By Working With Iran On This Nuclear Deal, We Were Better Able To Address Other Issues.

War

Iran

Issues

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

We Buy Our Own Toilet Paper Even Here In The White House.

White

House

Paper

I Think What Will Happen With Donald Trump Is There Are Going To Be Certain Elements Of His Temperament That Will Not Serve Him Well Unless He Recognizes Them And Corrects Them.

Thinking

Elements

Trump

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

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.

Together

Looks

Littles

Health Care Got Done Because There Were A Lot Of People Out There Who Aren't Professional Politicians, But Are Citizens, Who Pushed For It Even When The Politics Was Hard.

People

Citizens

Done

We Have To Think About Affirmative Action And Craft It In Such A Way Where Some Of Our Children, Who Are Advantaged, Aren't Getting More Favorable Treatment Than A Poor White Kid Who Struggled More.

Children

Kids

Thinking

I Use A Different Style If I'm Speaking To A Big Crowd; I Can Gin Up Folks Pretty Well. But When I'm In These Town Hall Settings, My Job Is Not To Throw Them A Lot Of Red Meat. I Want To Give Them A Sense Of My Thought Process.

Jobs

Giving

Style

It Wasn't Until About A Year, Year And A Half In Where I Began To Realize That The Pentagon And Our National-security Apparatus And The Cia Were All Getting Too Comfortable With The Technology As A Tool To Fight Terrorism, And Not Being Mindful Enough About How That Technology Is Being Used And The Dangers Of A Form Of Warfare That Is So Detached From What Is Actually Happening On The Ground. And So We Initiated This Big Process To Try To Get It In A Box.

Fighting

Technology

Years

The Leaders We Revere And The Businesses That Last Are Generally Not The Result Of A Narrow Pursuit Of Popularity Or Personal Advancement, But Of Devotion To Some Bigger Purpose. That's The Hallmark Of Real Success. The Other Trapping Of Success Might Be The By Product Of This Larger Mission, But It Can't Be The Central Thing.

Motivational

Success

Leadership

We've Come To Be Consumed By A 24-hour, Slash-and-burn, Negative Ad, Bickering, Small-minded Politics That Doesn't Move Us Forward.

Moving

Negative

Hours

The Federal Government And Our Democracy Is Not A Speedboat. It's An Oceanliner, As I Discovered When I Came Into Office. It Took A Lot Of Really Hard Work For Us To Make Significant Policy Changes, Even In Our First Two Years, When We Had Larger Majorities Than Mr. Trump Will Enjoy When He Comes Into Office.

Hard Work

Government

Years

... The Fact Is It Didn't Happen In The First Month, The First Six Weeks, In A Way That Was At All Acceptable. And Since I'm In Charge, Obviously, We Screwed It Up.

Care

Way

Months

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

We Remember The Surge And We Remember The Awakening -- When The Abyss Of Chaos Turned Toward The Promise Of Reconciliation. By Battling And Building Block By Block In Baghdad, By Bringing Tribes Into The Fold And Partnering With The Iraqi Army And Police, You Helped Turn The Tide Toward Peace.

Block

War

Army

You Can't Change Washington From The Inside. You Can Only Change It From The Outside.

Change

America

Usa

The United States Will Do What We Must To Prevent Iran From Obtaining A Nuclear Weapon.

Nuclear Iran

United States

Weapons

As I Reflect Back On What's Worked For Me In This [presidential] Office It's Been That I've Gotten People Who Maybe Didn't Believe In The Process To Get Engaged. Ironically, I've Even Gotten The Other Side That Maybe Didn't Believe In The Process To Get Engaged.

Believe

People

Office

I Think That When It Comes To Issues Of Trade, I Think It Is Important For Us To Be In Favor Of Trade, But I Also Think It Is Important To Make Sure That We Are Putting In Place The Labor Standards, The Environmental Standards, That Are Going To Provide Some Of A Fighting Chance For American Workers.

Fighting

Thinking

Issues

Our Environment Is Too Important To Neglect And It's Time For The Federal Government To Focus On Real Solutions And Live Up To Their Promises.

Real

Government

Focus

With The World's Unprecedented Inspections And Access To Iran's Program, We'll Know If Iran Ever Tries To Break Out.

Iran

Trying

Break Out

I Think We've Set The Bar With Respect To The Notion That It Is Possible To Provide Health Care For People. Now I Know That The Incoming Congress And Administration Talks About Repealing It. But We've Set A Bar That Shows That This Can Be Done. And That Core Principle Is One That The Majority Of Americans, Including Supporters Of Donald Trump Believe In.

Believe

Thinking

People

The Iranian People Are Getting Restive Because Of The Challenges That Sanctions Have Posed To Their Economy.

People

Challenges

Economy

Later, I Would Realize That The Position Of Most Black Students In Predominantly White Colleges Was Already Too Tenuous, Our Identities Too Scrambled, To Admit To Ourselves That Our Black Pride Remained Incomplete. And To Admit Our Doubt And Confusion To Whites, To Open Up Our Psyches To General Examination By Those Who Had Caused So Much Of The Damage In The First Place, Seemed Ludicrous, Itself An Expression Of Self-hatred - For There Seemed No Reason To Expect That Whites Would Look At Our Private Struggles As A Mirror Into Their Own Souls, Rather Than Yet More Evidence Of Black Pathology.

Struggle

Pride

Psych

It Is Legitimate For The Turks To Try To Defend Themselves.

Trying

The Notion That We Can Control The Flow Of Information Is Obsolete.

Information

Flow

Obsolete

You Bomb Isil. You're Not Trying To Bomb Innocent People. And That Requires Intelligence And Confidence In Our Military To Be Able To Develop The Kinds Of Targets That We Need. We're Already Doing Special Forces, Who Are Going To Help Us Gather That Intelligence And Help Advise And Assist And Train Local Forces So That They Can Go After Isil In Areas Like Raqqah And Mosul.

Military

People

Special

I Think Same Sex Couples Should Be Able To Get Married.

Sex

Couple

Thinking

Foreign Assistance Is Not An End In Itself. The Purpose Of Aid Must Be To Create The Conditions Where It's No Longer Need.

Purpose

Poverty

Aids

Do Something, Congress. Do Anything.

Congress

We Are Not At War With Islam. We Are At War With People Who Have Perverted Islam.

War

People

Islam

Slowly, But Surely, We Are Moving In The Right Direction. We're On The Right Track. The Economy Is Getting Stronger

Moving

Track

Stronger

I Think [obamacare] Will Survive. Or It May Be Called Something Else. And As I Said I Don't Don't Mind.

Thinking

Obamacare

Mind

In November [2016], Americans Are Gonna Have To Make A Decision About What We Care About And Who We Are. We Get These Spasms Of Politics Around Immigration And Fearmongering And Then Our Traditions And Our History And Our Better Impulses Kick In. That's How We All Ended Up Here. 'cause I Guarantee You At Some Point Every One Of Us Has Somebody In Our Background Who People Didn't Want Coming Here. And Yet Here We Are.

People

Decision

Immigration

Everybody Potentially Can Make The Claim That We Should All Be Treated Fairly.

Claims

Should

Treated

Andrew Cuomo Own Story Taught Andrew Cuomo That As Americans, We Are Bound Together As One People, And Our Country's Success Rests On The Success Of All Of Us, Not Just A Fortunate Few.

Success

Country

People

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

I Confess To Wincing Every So Often At A Poorly Chosen Word, A Mangled Sentence, An Expression Of Emotion That Seems Indulgent Or Overly Practiced. I Have The Urge To Cut The Book By Fifty Pages Or So, Possessed As I Am With A Keener Appreciation For Brevity.

Appreciation

Book

Cutting

As Americans, We Can Take Enormous Pride In The Fact That Courage Has Been Inspired By Our Own Struggle For Freedom, By The Tradition Of Democratic Law Secured By Our Forefathers And Enshrined In Our Constitution. It Is A Tradition That Says All Men Are Created Equal Under The Law And That No One Is Above It.

Struggle

Pride

Men

Ultimately, If You Think About All The Youth That Everybody Has Mentioned Here In Africa, If Everybody Is Raising Living Standards To The Point Where Everybody Has Got A Car And Everybody Has Got Air Conditioning, And Everybody Has Got A Big House, Well, The Planet Will Boil Over - Unless We Find New Ways Of Producing Energy.

Thinking

Air

Car

When Our Sailors In The Persian Gulf Accidentally Strayed Into Iranian Waters, That Could Have Sparked A Major International Incident. Some Folks Here In Washington Rushed To Declare That It Was The Start Of Another Hostage Crisis. Instead, We Worked Directly With The Iranian Government And Secured The Release Of Our Sailors In Less Than 24 Hours.

Government

Hostage Crisis

Water

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

The Day After The Attack, Governor, I Stood In The Rose Garden And I Told The American People And The World That We Are Going To Find Out Exactly What Happened. That This Was An Act Of Terror And I Also Said That We're Going To Hunt Down Those Who Committed This Crime.

Garden

People

Rose

I Think Part Of The Reason That I Have Been Successful, Though, Despite Maybe Not Always Fitting My Message Into The Pre-packaged Formulas, Is There Is This Whole Other Media Ecology Out There Of The Internet And Instagram And Memes And Talk Shows And Comedy, And I'm Pretty Good At That.

Successful

Thinking

Media

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

You Have Countries Like India That Have Tried To Help Untouchables, With Essentially Affirmative-action Programs, But It Hasn't Fundamentally Changed The Structure Of Their Societies.

Country

India

Action

Elections Are Always A Little Bit Funny. People Start Saying Things And Emphasizing Differences. After The Election, My Hope Is, Is That People Start Emphasizing What We Have In Common.

Differences

People

Littles

There's No One Who I Believe Has Ever Captured The Soul Of America More Profoundly Than Abraham Lincoln Has.

Believe

America

Soul

Moral Values Includes The Immorality Of 45 Million Uninsured Or The Immorality Of Working People Who Are Having Trouble Raising A Family Despite Working Full-time. That Has To Be Part Of The Moral Equation. And If We Are Able To Frame Things In That Fashion, Then I Think We Can Be Successful.

Fashion

Successful

Thinking

The Best Anti-poverty Program Is A World-class Education.

Class

World

Poverty

Life Takes Its Own Turns, Makes Its Own Demands, Writes Its Own Story, And Along The Way, We Start To Realize We Are Not The Author.

Inspirational Life

Writing

Stories

This Kind Of Game In Which Anybody Who I Know, Regardless Of How Flimsy The Relationship Is, That Somehow Their Ideas Could Be Attributed To Me, I Think The American People Are Smarter Than That. They're Not Going To Suggest Somehow That That Is Reflective Of My Views, Because It Obviously Isn't.

Thinking

Views

Games

We Have Proved That The True Strength Of Our Nation Comes Not From The Scale Of Our Wealth But From The Power Of Our Ideals - Opportunity, Democracy, Liberty And Hope.

Strong

Opportunity

Democracy

My Little Girls Can Break My Heart. They Can Make Me Cry Just Looking At Them Eating Their String Beans.

Girl

Heart

Littles

He [barack Obama] Talked About Deficit Reduction. This Got Me He Was Talking About How The Deficit's Being Reduced Faster In The Last 60 Years. That's Because He's Collected More Taxes. That's Like Bragging That You Paid Your Rent After You Robbed A Bank. It Makes No Sense.

Talking

Years

Lasts

The Science [of Global Warming] Is Beyond Dispute... Delay Is No Longer An Option. Denial Is No Longer An Acceptable Response

Denial

Delay

Global Warming

This Union May Never Be Perfect, But Generation After Generation Has Shown That It Can Always Be Perfected.

Perfect

Tolerance

Generations

The Trick Is Figuring Out How Do We Structure Government Systems That Pool Resources, And Hence Facilitate Some [wealth] Redistribution, Because I Actually Believe In Redistribution, At Least At A Certain Level, To Make Sure That Everybody's Got A Shot.

Believe

Government

Levels

Immigration Is Part Of The Reason Why Our Economy Is Stronger And Better Positioned Than Most Of Our Other Competitors, Is Because We've Got A Younger Population That's More Dynamic When It Comes To Trade.

Stronger

Immigration

Population

I Think The Most Important Thing For The Public And The Press Is To Just Listen To What Donald Trump Says And Follow Up And Ask Questions About What Appear To Be Either Contradictory Or Uninformed Or Outright Wacky Ideas.

Thinking

Ideas

Important

I'm Never Surprised By Controversies That Are Whipped Up In Washington.

Controversy

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

I've Got Two Daughters And I Want To Make Sure That They Have The Same Opportunities That Anybody's Sons Have. That's Part Of What I'm Fighting For As President Of The United States.

Daughter

Fighting

Son

One Of The Things I Think We Have To Do Is Make Sure That College Is Affordable For Every Young Person In America. And I Also Think That We're Going To Have To Rebuild Our Infrastructure, Which Is Falling Behind, Our Roads, Our Bridges, But Also Broadband Lines That Reach Into Rural Communities. So There Are Some Things That We've Got To Do Structurally To Make Sure That We Can Compete In This Global Economy. We Can't Shortchange Those Things. We've Got To Eliminate Programs That Don't Work, And We've Got To Make Sure That The Programs That We Do Have Are More Efficient And Cost Less.

Fall

College

Thinking

If All It Took Was Someone Proclaiming I Believe Jesus Christ And That He Died For My Sins, And That Was All There Was To It, People Wouldn't Have To Keep Coming To Church, Would They.

Jesus

Believe

People

Mandela's Commitment To Democracy Was Ratified Not Only By His Election, But By His Willingness To Step Down From Power

Commitment

Democracy

Steps

We Can't Wait For Congress To Do Its Job. So Where They Won't Act, I Will.

Jobs

Waiting

Congress

More Than A Building That Houses Books And Data, The Library Represents A Window To A Larger World, The Place Where We've Always Come To Discover Big Ideas And Profound Concepts That Help Move The American Story Forward And The Human Story Forward.

Inspirational

Moving

Book

In America, There's A Failure To Appreciate Europe's Leading Role In The World. Instead Of Celebrating Your Dynamic Union And Seeking To Partner With You To Meet Common Challenges, There Have Been Times Where America Has Shown Arrogance And Been Dismissive, Even Derisive.

Europe

America

Appreciate

I Would Say Of All The Things That Have Happened During The Course Of My Presidency The Knowledge That You Have Hundreds Of Thousands Of People Who Have Been Killed, Millions Who Have Been Displaced, [makes Me] Ask Myself What Might I Have Done Differently Along The Course Of The Last Five, Six Years.

Years

People

Done

If You’re Walking Down The Right Path And You’re Willing To Keep Walking, Eventually You’ll Make Progress.

Inspirational

Motivational

Inspiring

We Honor Those Who Walked So We Could Run. We Must Run So Our Children Soar. And We Will Not Grow Weary.

Running

Children

Honor

One Of The Things I Think The Next President Has To Do Is To Stop Fanning People's Fears. If We Spend All Our Time Feeding The American People Fear And Conflict And Division, Then They Become Fearful And Conflicted And Divided. And If We Feed Them Hope And We Feed Them Reason And Tolerance, Then They Will Become Tolerant And Reasonable And Hopeful.

Thinking

People

Hopeful

Inequality Also Distorts Our Democracy. It Gives An Outsized Voice To The Few Who Can Afford High-priced Lobbyists And Unlimited Campaign Contributions, And Runs The Risk Of Selling Out Our Democracy To The Highest Bidder. And It Leaves Everyone Else Rightly Suspicious That The System In Washington Is Rigged Against Them - That Our Elected Representatives Aren't Looking Out For The Interests Of Most Americans.

Running

Voice

Giving

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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