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I Think Back To The Day I Drove Michelle And A Newborn Malia Home From The Hospital Nearly 11 Years Ago - Crawling Along, Miles Under The Speed Limit, Feeling The Weight Of My Daughter's Future Resting In My Hands. I Think About The Pledge I Made To Her That Day: That I Would Give Her What I Never Had - That If I Could Be Anything In Life, I Would Be A Good Father. I Knew That Day That My Own Life Wouldn't Count For Much Unless She Had Every Opportunity In Hers.
-Barack Obama
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I Think Back To

Barack Obama
I Think Back To The Day I Drove Michelle And A Newborn Malia Home From The Hospital Nearly 11 Years Ago - Crawling Along, Miles Under The Speed Limit, Feeling The Weight Of My Daughter's Future Resting In My Hands. I Think About The Pledge I Made To Her That Day: That I Would Give Her What I Never Had - That If I Could Be Anything In Life, I Would Be A Good Father. I Knew That Day That My Own Life Wouldn't Count For Much Unless She Had Every Opportunity In Hers.
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Topic
Daughter
Fathers Day
Dad
More From Barack Obama
I Think Back To The Day I Drove Michelle And A Newborn Malia Home From The Hospital Nearly 11 Years Ago - Crawling Along, Miles Under The Speed Limit, Feeling The Weight Of My Daughter's Future Resting In My Hands. I Think About The Pledge I Made To Her That Day: That I Would Give Her What I Never Had - That If I Could Be Anything In Life, I Would Be A Good Father. I Knew That Day That My Own Life Wouldn't Count For Much Unless She Had Every Opportunity In Hers.
Daughter
Fathers Day
Dad
I Don't Think That Hedge Funds Are Bad Per Se. I Think They're Just One More Financial Tool. And In That Sense, They're Useful.
Thinking
Tools
Financial
America At Its Best Is Inclusive And Not Exclusive.
America
Exclusive
People Take Pride In Being Irish-american And Italian-american. They Have A Particular Culture That Infuses The Whole Culture And Makes It Richer And More Interesting. I Think If We Can Expand That Attitude To Embrace African-americans And Latino-americans And Asian-americans, Then We Will Be In A Position Where All Our Kids Can Feel Comfortable With The Worlds They Are Coming Out Of, Knowing They Are Part Of Something Larger.
Attitude
Kids
Pride
[people] Are Looking For Some Means Of Control And What That Means Is Is That The Politics In All Of Our Countries Is Gonna Require Us To Manage Technology And Global Integration And All These Demographic Shifts In A Way That Makes People Feel More Control, That Gives Them More Confidence In Their Future.
Country
Mean
Technology
One Of The Great Things About Being Commander In Chief Is Getting To Know Our Men And Women In Uniform In A Very Intimate Way, Whether It's Visiting Walter Reed And Seeing Our Wounded Soldiers, Or Being On A Base And Talking To Families, Or Interacting With Them On Missions. They're The Best Of The Best: Always Thinking About The Mission, Not Thinking About Credit, Not Thinking About Who's Up Front.
Men
Thinking
Talking
My Administration Doesn’t Have Any Secrets, And From Now On, Neither Will You.
Secret
Administration
We Need To Internalize This Idea Of Excellence. Not Many Folks Spend A Lot Of Time Trying To Be Excellent.
Time
Ideas
Perfection
Because Of The Internet And Communications, The Clash Of Cultures Is Much More Direct. People Feel, I Think, Less Certain About Their Identity, Less Certain About Economic Security.
Communication
Thinking
People
I Do Love The Waldorf-astoria, Though. You Know, I Hear That From The Doorstep You Can See All The Way To The Russian Tea Room.
Tea
Way
Rooms
Part Of The Power Of The Internet Is That Information Flows Out There And It's Generally Not Censored And It's Generally Not Controlled By Any Single Authority.
Information Flow
Internet
Authority
The Role Of Citizen In Our Democracy Does Not End With Your Vote.
Democracy
Doe
Roles
As A Student Of History, I Also Know Civilization's Debt To Islam.
Civilization
Mind Blowing
Islam
Today, On This Day Of Possibility, We Stand In The Shadow Of A Lanky, Raw-boned Man With Little Formal Education Who Once Took The Stage At Old Main And Told The Nation That If Anyone Did Not Believe The American Principles Of Freedom And Equality, That Those Principles Were Timeless And All-inclusive, They Should Go Rip That Page Out Of The Declaration Of Independence.
Rip
Believe
Men
Lord Bendtner Is The Best Player Of All Times
Player
Lord
All Time
Of Course, Israel Cannot Be Expected To Negotiate With Anyone Who Is Dedicated To Its Destruction. But While I Know You Have Had Differences With The Palestinian Authority, I Believe That You Do Have A True Partner In President Abbas.
Believe
Differences
Israel
America, We Are Better Than These Last Eight Years. We Are A Better Country Than This.
Country
Eight
Years
I Opposed The Defense Of Marriage Act In 1996. It Should Be Repealed And I Will Vote For Its Repeal On The Senate Floor. I Will Also Oppose Any Proposal To Amend The U.s. Constitution To Ban Gays And Lesbians From Marrying.
Marriage
Gay
Defense
I Learned To Slip Back And Forth Between My Black And White Worlds. One Of Those Tricks I Had Learned: People Were Satisfied So Long As You Were Courteous And Smiled And Made No Sudden Moves. They Were More Than Satisfied; They Were Relieved -- Such A Pleasant Surprise To Find A Well-mannered Young Black Man Who Didn't Seem Angry All The Time.
Moving
Black And White
Men
I Stand Here Today Humbled By The Task Before Us, Grateful For The Trust You Have Bestowed, Mindful Of The Sacrifices Borne By Our Ancestors.
Grateful
Sacrifice
Today
My Expectation Would Be That If We Can Begin Discussions Soon, Shortly After The Iranian Elections, We Should Have A Fairly Good Sense By The End Of The Year As To Whether They Are Moving In The Right Direction.
Moving
Should Have
Years
If You Go Out And Make Some Things Happen, You Will Fill The World With Hope.
Motivational
Determination
Helping Others
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
Trayvon Martin Could Have Been Me 35 Years Ago.
Years
Trayvon
Could Have Been
I Think It Is Possible For The World To See A Palestinian State - I'm Not Going To Put A Time Frame On It - That Is Contiguous, That Allows Freedom Of Movement For Its People, That Allows For Trade With Other Countries, That Allows The Creation Of Businesses And Commerce So That People Have A Better Life.
Country
Thinking
People
We Have A Historic Opportunity To Prevent The Spread Of Nuclear Weapons In Iran, And To Do So Peacefully, With The International Community Firmly Behind Us. We Should Seize That Chance.
Opportunity
Iran
Community
Number One, It Is Important That We Fix The Legal Immigration System, Because Right Now We've Got A Backlog That Means Years For People To Apply Legally. And What's Worse Is, We Keep On Increasing The Fees, So That If You've Got A Hard Working Immigrant Family, They've Got To Hire A Lawyer; They've Got To Pay Thousands Of Dollars In Fees. They Just Can't Afford It. And It's Discriminatory Against People Who Have Good Character, We Should Want In This Country, But Don't Have The Money. So We've Got To Fix That.
Country
Character
Mean
So, Let Us Summon A New Spirit Of Patriotism, Of Responsibility, Where Each Of Us Resolves To Pitch In And Work Harder And Look Over Not Only Ourselves, But Each Other.
Hard Work
Responsibility
Yes We Can
There's No Question That A Lot Of Americans On Both The Right And The Left Are Expressing Some Fears And Frustrations About The Dislocations Brought On By Globalisation. Many Of Those Frustrations Are Legitimate And They Need To Be Addressed.
Frustration
Needs
Left
When We Succeed, We Succeed Because Of Our Individual Initiative, But Also Because We Do Things Together.
Together
Succeed
Initiative
I Don't Think I Underestimated [vladimir Putin], But I Think That I Underestimated The Degree To Which, In This New Information Age, It Is Possible For Misinformation For Cyber Hacking And So Forth To Have An Impact On Our Open Societies, Our Open Systems, To Insinuate Themselves Into Our Democratic Practices In Ways That I Think Are Accelerating.
Thinking
Practice
Impact
So Don't Get Cynical. Cynicism Didn't Put A Man On The Moon. Cynicism Has Never Won A War, Or Cured A Disease, Or Built A Business, Or Fed A Young Mind. Cynicism Is A Choice. And Hope Will Always Be A Better Choice.
War
Moon
Men
I Believe We Can Seize This Future Together, Because We Are Not As Divided As Our Politics Suggests. [...] We Are Greater Than The Sum Of Our Individual Ambitions. [...] We Are And Forever Will Be The United States Of America. [...] We Will Continue Our Journey Forward And Remind The World Just Why It Is That We Live In The Greatest Nation On Earth.
Believe
Ambition
America
Every Country Has Violent, Hateful, Or Mentally Unstable People. What's Different Is Not Every Country Is Awash With Easily Accessible Guns.
Country
Gun
People
That Is Another Theme In The Book [dreams From My Father]. How Do We Exercise More Empathy In Our Public Discourse? How Do We Get The Black To See Through The Eyes Of The White? Or The Citizen To See Through The Eyes Of The Immigrant? Or The Straight To See Through The Eyes Of The Gay? That Has Always Been A Struggle In Our Politics.
Dream
Father
Book
Islamic Culture Has Given Us Majestic Arches And Soaring Spires; Timeless Poetry And Cherished Music; Elegant Calligraphy And Places Of Peaceful Contemplation.
Islamic
Peaceful
Culture
I Will Begin To Remove Our Troops From Iraq Immediately.
Iraq
Historical
Troops
That Is The True Genius Of America, A Faith In The Simple Dreams Of Its People, The Insistence On Small Miracles. That We Can Say What We Think, Write What We Think, Without Hearing A Sudden Knock On The Door. That We Can Have An Idea And Start Our Own Business Without Paying A Bribe Or Hearing A Sudden Knock On The Door. That We Can Participate In The Political Process Without Fear Of Retribution, And That Our Votes Will Be Counted.
Dream
Fear
Business
If You Were Successful, Somebody Along The Line Gave You Some Help. There Was A Great Teacher Somewhere In Your Life.
Teacher
Successful
Lines
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
There Was Never A Promise That Race Relations In America Would Be Entirely Resolved During My Presidency Or Anybody's Presidency. I Mean, This Has Been A Running Thread - And - And Fault Line In American Life And American Politics Since Its Founding.
Running
Mean
Race
For We Have A Choice In This Country. We Can Accept A Politics That Breeds Division, And Conflict, And Cynicism. We Can Tackle Race Only As Spectacle - As We Did In The Oj Trial - Or In The Wake Of Tragedy, As We Did In The Aftermath Of Katrina - Or As Fodder For The Nightly News. We Can Play Reverend Wright's Sermons On Every Channel, Every Day And Talk About Them From Now Until The Election, And Make The Only Question In This Campaign Whether Or Not The American People Think That I Somehow Believe Or Sympathize With His Most Offensive Words.
Inspiring
Country
Believe
There Is A Big Risk For The Republicans In A Race, Especially With Hillary Clinton As A Likely Democratic Nominee In A Contest That Will Focus On The Possibility Of The First Woman President To Be Six Months Suspending Up The Nomination Of A Black Woman, Who Is Imminently Qualified.
Race
Focus
Risk
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
Sometimes They're Nothing, Sometimes They're Something, Sometimes There's A Connection That Years Later May Show Up. All Of This Information Is Useful.
Years
Connections
May
If You Give Up On The Idea That Your Voice Can Make A Difference, Then Other Voices Will Fill The Void: Lobbyists And Special Interests; The People With The $10 Million Checks Who Are Trying To Buy This Election And Those Who Are Making It Harder For You To Vote; Washington Politicians Who Want To Decide Who You Can Marry, Or Control Health Care Choices That Women Should Make For Themselves.
Giving Up
Gay
Differences
When It Comes To The War In Iraq, The Time For Promises And Assurances For Waiting And For Patience Is Over. Too Many Lives Have Been Lost, Too Many Billions Of Dollars Have Been Spent For Us To Trust The President On Another Tired And Failed Policy That's Opposed By Generals And Experts, Democrats And Republicans, Americans And Many Of The Iraqis Themselves.
Country
War
Struggle
I'm Not Somebody Who Is Always Comfortable With Language That Implies I've Got A Monopoly On The Truth, Or That My Faith Is Automatically Transferable To Others.
Language
Monopoly
Comfortable
I Look Forward To Teaching The Occasional Class, 'cause I Was A Professor. And I Had Fun Doing It.
Fun
Teaching
Class
The American People Recognize That Their Careers Or Their Kids' Careers Are Going To Have To Be More Dynamic. That They Might Not Be Working At A Single Plant For 30 Years. That They Might Have To Change Careers. They Might Have To Get More Education. They Might Have To Retool Or Retrain. And I Think The American People Are Game For That.
Kids
Thinking
Years
The Sweetest Sound I Know Is The Muslim Call To Prayer.
Prayer
Mind Blowing
Islam
One Of The Issues The Democrats Have To Be Clear On Is The Given Population Distribution Across The Country. We Have To Compete Everywhere. We Have To Show Up Everywhere. We Have To Work At A Grassroots Level, Something That's Been A Running Thread In My Career.
Running
Country
Careers
Ultimately There Is No Dividing Line Between Main Street And Wall Street. We Will Rise Or We Will Fall Together As One Nation.
Wall
Fall
Together
Time Is Running Out For Iran To Address The International Community's Growing Concerns About Its Nuclear Program.
Running
Iran
Community
In The Fight Against Isil, We Cannot Rely On An Assad Regime That Terrorizes Its People; A Regime That Will Never Regain The Legitimacy It Has Lost. Instead, We Must Strengthen The Opposition As The Best Counterweight To Extremists Like Isil, While Pursuing The Political Solution Necessary To Solve Syria's Crisis Once And For All.
Islamic
Fighting
People
What Is A Danger Is That We Stay Stuck In A New Normal Where Unemployment Rates Stay High, People Who Have Jobs See Their Incomes Go Up, Businesses Make Big Profits. But They're Learned To Do More With Less, And So They Don't Hire.
Jobs
New Normal
People
You Can't Change Washington From The Inside. You Can Only Change It From The Outside.
Change
America
Usa
What Reagan Ushered In Was A Skepticism Toward Government Solutions To Every Problem. I Don't Think That Has Changed
Thinking
Government
Problem
One Of The Hardest Things In Politics Is To Convince People To Do Things Now That Will Have A Good Effect 20 Or 30 Years From Now Because Politicians Tend To Have A Short-term View. They Are More Attentive To Things That People Care About Today.
Views
Years
People
I Was Able To See Faith As More Than Just A Comfort To The Weary Or A Hedge Against Death; Rather, It Was An Active, Palpable Agent In The World.
God
Comforting
Agents
The Cyber World Is Sort Of The Wild, Wild West, And To Some Degree, We're Asked To Be The Sheriff.
Degrees
World
West
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
If Fake News That's Being Released By Some Foreign Government Is Almost Identical To Reports That Are Being Issued Through Partisan News Venues, Then It's Not Surprising That That Foreign Propaganda Will Have A Greater Effect, Because It Doesn't Seem That Far-fetched Compared To Some Of The Other Stuff That Folks Are Hearing From Domestic Propagandists.
Government
Fake
News
When Americans Are Called On To Innovate, That's What We Do - Whether It's Making More Fuel-efficient Cars Or More Fuel-efficient Appliances, Or Making Sure That We Are Putting In Place The Kinds Of Equipment That Prevents Harm To The Ozone Layer And Eliminates Acid Rain. At Every One Of These Steps, There Have Been Folks Who Have Said It Can't Be Done. There Have Been Naysayers Who Said This Is Going To Destroy Jobs And Destroy Industry. And It Doesn't Happen Because Once We Have A Clear Target To Meet, We Typically Meet It. And We Find The Best Ways To Do It.
Jobs
Rain
Ozone
America's Nurses Are The Beating Heart Of Our Medical System.
Heart
Nursing
America
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
This Is What I Would Call Old Politics. This Is The Stuff We're Trying To Get Rid Of. Because The Problem Is, When We Start Breaking Down Into Conservative And Liberal, And We've Got A Bunch Of Set Predispositions, Whether It's On Gun Control, Or Its' On Health Care, Any Attempt To Do Health Care Is Socialized Medicine.
Gun
Medicine
Trying
Bernie Sanders Would Say, "you Still Have Millions Of African Americans Who Aren't Insured, And If We Had A Single-payer System, That Wouldn't Be The Case." And That's True.
African American
Cases
Stills
One Of The Things That We Have To Change In This Country Is The Idea That People Can't Disagree Without Challenging Each Other's Character And Patriotism. I Have Never Suggested That Sen. Mccain Picks His Positions On National Security Based On Politics Or Personal Ambition. I Have Not Suggested It Because I Believe That He Genuinely Wants To Serve America's National Interest. Now, It's Time For Him To Acknowledge That I Want To Do The Same. Let Me Be Clear: I Will Let No One Question My Love Of This Country.
Country
Believe
Ambition
The Notion That We Would Condition Iran Not Getting Nuclear Weapons In A Verifiable Deal On Iran Recognizing Israel Is Really Akin To Saying That We Won't Sign A Deal Unless The Nature Of The Iranian Regime Completely Transforms. And That Is, I Think, A Fundamental Misjudgment.
Nature
Thinking
Israel
Several Americans, Unjustly Detained By Iran, Are Finally Coming Home. In Some Cases, These Americans Faced Years Of Continued Detention, And I've Met With Some Of Their Families. I've Seen Their Anguish, How They Ache For Their Sons And Husbands. I Gave These Families My Word. I Made A Vow That We Would Do Everything In Our Power To Win The Release Of Their Loved Ones, And We Have Been Tireless.
Husband
Home
Son
Of Course, There's Been A Real Debate About Where To Invest And Where To Cut, And I'm Committed To Working With Members Of Both Parties To Cut Our Deficits And Debt. But We Can't Simply Cut Our Way To Prosperity.
Real
Party
Cutting
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
I Think We All Know That World Owes An Enormous Debt To Greece And The Greek People.
Thinking
People
Greek
You Haven't Seen A Lot Of Turnover In My Campaign. And The Culture Of My Campaign Is One In Which I Think Everybody Feels A Great Sense Of Ownership.
Thinking
Culture
Campaigns
I Believe That The Free Enterprise System Is The Greatest Engine Of Prosperity The World's Ever Known. I Believe In Self-reliance And Individual Initiative And Risk-takers Being Rewarded. But I Also Believe That Everybody Should Have A Fair Shot And Everybody Should Do Their Fair Share And Everybody Should Play By The Same Rules, Because That's How Our Economy's Grown. That's How We Built The World's Greatest Middle Class.
Believe
Self
Should Have
If You Work Hard. And Are Responsible. You Should Be Rewarded.
Hard Work
Responsible
Should
We Can Give Our Intelligence And Law Enforcement Community The Powers They Need To Track Down And Take Out Terrorists Without Undermining Our Commitment To The Rule Of Law, Or Our Basic Rights And Liberties.
Commitment
Nsa
Rights
My Parents Shared Not Only An Improbable Love, They Shared An Abiding Faith In The Possibilities Of This Nation. They Would Give Me An African Name, Barack, Or Blessed, Believing That In A Tolerant America Your Name Is No Barrier To Success.
Love
Believe
Blessed
As Opposed To Getting Into Arguments About, Well, These Folks Have Been Treated Fairly So Now We're Going To Be Doing Things That, Very Easily In The Minds Of A Lot Americans Feel Like, "now I'm Being Treated Unfairly."
Mind
Argument
Folks
The Path Towards Sustainable Energy Sources Will Be Long And Sometimes Difficult. But America Cannot Resist This Transition, We Must Lead It. We Cannot Cede To Other Nations The Technology That Will Power New Jobs And New Industries, We Must Claim Its Promise. That's How We Will Maintain Our Economic Vitality And Our National Treasure-our Forests And Waterways, Our Crop Lands And Snow-capped Peaks. That Is How We Will Preserve Our Planet, Commanded To Our Care By God. That's What Will Lend Meaning To The Creed Our Fathers Once Declared.
God
Jobs
Father
I'm Named Barack Hussein Obama. I'm African-­american.
African American
Hussein
Barack
No Single Nation Should Pick And Choose Which Nations Holds Nuclear Weapons. And That's Why I Strongly Reaffirmed America's Commitment To Seek A World In Which No Nations Hold Nuclear Weapons.
Commitment
World
Nuclear Weapons
Those Of Us Who Have The Privilege To Serve This Country Have An Obligation To Do Our Job As Best We Can. We Come From Different Parties, But We Are Americans First. And That's Why Disagreement Cannot Mean Dysfunction. It Can't Degenerate Into Hatred. The American People's Hopes And Dreams Are What Matters, Not Ours. Our Obligations Are To Them. Our Regard For Them Compels Us All, Democrats And Republicans, To Cooperate, And Compromise, And Act In The Best Interests Of Our Nation –- One Nation, Under God, Indivisible With Liberty And Justice For All.
Dream
Country
Jobs
I Support Ensuring That Committed Gay Couples Have The Same Rights And Responsibilities Afforded To Any Married Couple In This Country. I Believe Strongly In Stopping Laws Designed To Take Rights Away And Passing Laws That Extend Equal Rights To Gay Couples. I've Required All Agencies In The Federal Government To Extend As Many Federal Benefits As Possible To Lgbt Families As The Current Law Allows. And I've Called On Congress To Repeal The So-called Defense Of Marriage Act And To Pass The Domestic Partners Benefits And Obligations Act.
Country
Couple
Believe
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 Do Think That Saving The Economy Was A Pretty Big Deal. We Did A Lot Of Stuff Early That Ended Up Having An Impact. I Believe That The Work We've Done In Moving Our Energy Future In A Cleaner Direction Is Going To Stick Even If Some Of The Individual Steps That We Took Are Reversed By Future Administrations. I Think That It's Embedded Itself In The Economy.
Believe
Moving
Thinking
Think About It: Iran, Cuba, Venezuela - These Countries Are Tiny Compared To The Soviet Union. They Don't Pose A Serious Threat To Us The Way The Soviet Union Posed A Threat To Us.
Country
Thinking
Iran
We Are Still The America That Does The Hard Things, That Does The Great Things. We're The Nation That Always Dared To Dream. We're The Nation That Dared To Take Risks.
Dream
America
Risk
It's Not A Choice Between Our Environment And Our Economy; It's A Choice Between Prosperity And Decline.
Choices
Environment
Prosperity
What Makes America Exceptional Are The Bonds That Hold Together The Most Diverse Nation On Earth.
America
Together
Earth
I Always Tell My Staff, "better Is Good." I'll Take Better Every Time, Because Better Is Hard.
Staff
Hard
I've Got A Grocery Bill At The End Of Every Month.our Toothpaste, Our Orange Juice, That All Gets Paid. But I - It Is True That I Don't Carry My Wallet That Often.
Orange
Months
Juice
Climate Change Poses A Direct Threat To The Infrastructure Of America That We Need To Stay Competitive In This 21st-century Economy.
America
Politics
Climate
We Want Everybody To Act Like Adults, Quit Playing Games, Realize That It's Not Just My Way Or The Highway.
Powerful
Playing Games
Adults
As President, I'm Committed To Making Washington Work Better And Rebuilding The Trust Of The People Who Sent Us Here.
People
President
Rebuilding
For America To Get More Entangled Militarily In Syria Is A Serious Step, And We Have To Do So Making Absolutely Certain That We Know Who We Are Helping; That We're Not Putting Arms In The Hands Of Folks Who Eventually Could Turn Them Against Us Or Allies In The Region.
Hands
America
Allies
We Remember The Grind Of The Insurgency -- The Roadside Bombs, The Sniper Fire, The Suicide Attacks. From The 'triangle Of Death' To The Fight For Ramadi; From Mosul In The North To Basra In The South -- Your Will Proved Stronger Than The Terror Of Those Who Tried To Break It.
Suicide
War
Fighting
Change Has Come To America.
Change
America
[michelle Obama] Was The Hardest Sell. And She Never Fully Embraced Being In The Public Spotlight, Which Is Ironic, Given How Good She Is.
Ironic
Spotlight
Given
...started By Missionaries In 1841, Punahou Academy Had Grown Into A Prestigious Prep School, An Incubator For Island Elites...it Hadn't Been Easy To Get Me In, My Grandparents Told Her (my Mother); There Was A Long Waiting List, And I Was Considered Only Because Of The Intervention Of Gramps' Boss, Who Was An Alumnus (my First Experience With Affirmative Action, It Seems, Had Little To Do With Race).
Mother
School
Islands
We Don't Ask You To Believe In Our Ability To Bring Change, Rather, We Ask You To Believe In Yours.
Believe
Ability
Asks
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
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
The Question We Ask Today Is Not Whether Our Government Is Too Big Or Too Small, But Whether Government Works.
Government
Today
Bigs
Undocumented Workers Can't Report If They're Not Being Paid Overtime, Or If Their Health And Safety Laws Are Being Violated, Of If They're Not Getting The Minimum Wage. And So A Lot Of Times Companies Prefer To Hire Them In Order To Take Advantage Of Them. We've Got To Crack Down On Those Employers.
Order
Law
Safety
Higher Minimum Wages, Full-employment Programs, Early-childhood Education: Those Kinds Of Programs Are, By Design, Universal, But By Definition, Because They Are Helping Folks Who Are In The Worst Economic Situations, Are Most Likely To Disproportionately Impact And Benefit African Americans. They Also Have The Benefit Of Being Sellable To A Majority Of The Body Politic.
Impact
Design
Childhood
Our Nation Owes A Debt To Its Fallen Heroes That We Can Never Fully Repay, But We Can Honor Their Sacrifice.
Memorial Day
Hero
Sacrifice
A Good Compromise, A Good Piece Of Legislation, Is Like A Good Sentence; Or A Good Piece Of Music. Everybody Can Recognize It. They Say, 'huh. It Works. It Makes Sense.'
Music
Powerful
Pieces
...as Parents, We Have To Find The Time And The Energy To Step In And Help Our Children Love Reading. We Can Read To Them, Talk To Them About What They're Reading, And Make Time For This By Turning Off The Television Set Ourselves. Libraries Are A Critical Tool To Help Parents Do This.
Children
Reading
Kids
If We Are Going To Solve The Challenges We Face, You Need A President Who Will Pursue Genuine Solutions Day In And Day Out. And That Is My Commitment To You. We Need Immigration Reform That Will Secure Our Borders, And Punish Employers Who Exploit Immigrant Labor; Reform That Finally Brings The 12 Million People Who Are Here Illegally Out Of The Shadows By Requiring Them To Take Steps To Become Legal Citizens. We Must Assert Our Values And Reconcile Our Principles As A Nation Of Immigrants And A Nation Of Laws. That Is A Priority I Will Pursue From My Very First Day.
Commitment
Law
People
The Notion That Somehow As A Consequence Of Me Knowing Somebody Who Engaged In Detestable Acts 40 Years Ago, When I Was 8 Years Old, Somehow Reflects On Me And My Values Doesn't Make Much Sense.
Years
Knowing
Notion
No Matter How Much You've Done, Or How Successful You've Been, There's Always More To Do, Always More To Learn, And Always More To Achieve.
Successful
Goal
Done
[the White House Staff] Start Bringing In Their Kids, Who You Think Should Be Babies And Now Are In Second Grade Or Something, And You've Watched Them Grow Up. So I Think What Ends Up Happening Is You End Up Maintaining Those Networks And Those Contacts, But The Concentrated Interactions And Experience That You Have Here, I Don't Think, I Don't Expect You Can Duplicate Anyplace Else.
Baby
Growing Up
Kids
Like It Or Not, We Have To Have A Financial System That Is Healthy And Functioning.
Healthy
Financial
Financial System
America, We Weaken Our Ties When We Allow Our Political Dialogue To Become So Corrosive That People Of Good Character Aren't Even Willing To Enter Into Public Service; So Coarse With Rancor That Americans With Whom We Disagree Are Seen Not Just As Misguided But As Malevolent. We Weaken Those Ties When We Define Some Of Us As More American Than Others, When We Write Off The Whole System As Inevitably Corrupt, And When We Sit Back And Blame The Leaders We Elect Without Examining Our Own Role In Electing Them.
Writing
Character
People
Another Tradition To Politics, A Tradition (of Politics) That Stretched From The Days Of The Country’s Founding To The Glory Of The Civil Rights Movement, A Tradition Based On The Simple Idea That We Have A Stake In One Another, And That What Binds Us Together Is Greater Than What Drives Us Apart, And That If Enough People Believe In The Truth Of That Proposition And Act On It, Then We Might Not Solve Every Problem, But We Can Get Something Meaningful Done.
Meaningful
Country
Believe
You Might Slow Down A Little Bit, You Might Not Jump As High As You Used To, But I Know What I'm Doing And I'm Fearless.
Fearless
Littles
Might
The American People And The Israeli Peoples Share A Faith In The Future And Believe That Democracies Can Shape Their Own Destinies And That Opportunities Should Be Available To All. Throughout Its Own Extraordinary History, Israel Has Given Life To That Promise.
Believe
Opportunity
Destiny
This Is The Moment When We Must Come Together To Save This Planet.
Teamwork
Together
Action
Building On Our Young South-east Asian Leaders Initiative, I'm Hopeful That We Can Continue Expand The Ties And Cooperation Between Our Young People And Students.
Ties
People
Hopeful
We Have Now Just Enshrined, As Soon As I Sign This Bill, The Core Principle That Everybody Should Have Some Basic Security When It Comes To Their Healthcare.
Should Have
Principles
Bills
The Russians Can't Change Us Or Significantly Weaken Us. They Are A Smaller Country. They Are A Weaker Country. Their Economy Doesn't Produce Anything That Anybody Wants To Buy, Except Oil And Gas And Arms. They Don't Innovate. But They Can Impact Us If We Lose Track Of Who We Are.
Country
Track
Economy
Today, Women Make Up About Half Our Workforce. But They Still Make 77 Cents For Every Dollar A Man Earns. That Is Wrong, And In 2014, It’s An Embarrassment. Women Deserve Equal Pay For Equal Work.
Men
Equal Pay
Dollars
I Will Never Apologize For Saying That The Future Of Humanity And The Future Of The World Is Going To Be Defined By What We Have In Common As Opposed To Those Things That Separate Us And Ultimately Lead Us Into Conflict.
Humanity
World
Apologizing
The Truth Is That America Has Been Closely Divided Politically For Quite Some Time. That Was Reflected In Some Of The Challenges I Had With The Republican Congress.
America
Challenges
Republican
The Problem With All These Tired Excuses For Inaction Is That It Suggests A Fundamental Lack Of Faith In American Business And American Ingenuity.
Tired
Fundamentals
Global Warming
As A Practical Matter, It Is Hard To Think Of Any Society In Human History In Which A Majority Population Has Said That As A Consequence Of Historic Wrongs, We Are Now Going To Take A Big Chunk Of The Nation's Resources Over A Long Period Of Time To Make That Right.
Thinking
Long
Majority
We Continue To Stand United With Germany And Our Nato Allies In Our Ongoing Efforts To Build Peace And Stability In Afghanistan.
Effort
Allies
Germany
The Arts Are What Makes Life Worth Living. You've Got Food, You've Got Shelter, Yeah. But The Things That Make You Laugh, Make You Cry, Make You Connect - Make You Love Are Communicated Through The Arts. They Aren't Extras.
Art
Laughing
Shelter
In Europe, Where The Terrorist Threat Is Probably Greatest At The Moment, The Amount Of Information-sharing That's Been Taking Place, The Effectiveness Of Law Enforcement Across Borders Gives Us The Ability To Protect Ourselves While Still Being True To The Basic Precepts Of Our Liberal Democracies. I Hope That That Continues, And It Is Something That I Think We Should Be Worried About.
Thinking
Europe
Law
Back In The '50s And '60s, Most Politicians Were Concerned About Not Talking About Faith, Partly Because There Were Consequences You Had To Deal With - (for Instance) Catholicism Had Been Made An Issue.
Talking
Issues
Politician
We Had A Farewell Dinner For Some Of My Senior Staff, And Generally Everybody Likes To Talk About How Cool I Was.
Senior
Farewell
Dinner
Since Taking Office, I've Made It Clear That The United States Was Prepared To Begin A New Chapter Of Engagement With The Islamic Republic Of Iran. We Offered The Iranian Government A Clear Choice. It Could Fulfill Its International Obligations And Realize Greater Security, Deeper Economic And Political Integration With The World, And A Better Future For All Iranians. Or It Could Continue To Flout Its Responsibilities And Face Even More Pressure And Isolation.
Islamic
Responsibility
Iran
You Are Part Of The First Generation Of Officers To Begin Your Service In A World Where The Effects Of Climate Change Are So Clearly Upon Us. Climate Change Will Shape How Every One Of Our Services Plan, Operate, Train, Equip, And Protect Their Infrastructure, Today And For The Long-term.
Change
Long
Climate
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
I'm Going To Tell The American People What I Believe Will Make This Country Great.
Country
Believe
People
Jobs Was Brave Enough To Think Differently, Bold Enough To Believe He Could Change The World, And Talented Enough To Do It.
Jobs
Believe
Thinking
If It's On Facebook, It All Looks The Same.
Looks
Ifs
America Does Not Accept The Legitimacy Of Continued Israeli Settlements.
America
Israeli Settlements
Doe
We Can Make Sure That People Who Don't Have Health Insurance Can Buy Into An Insurance Pool That Gives Them Better Bargaining Power.
People
Giving
Pool
Robin Williams Was An Airman, A Doctor, A Genie, A Nanny, A President, A Professor, A Bangarang Peter Pan, And Everything In Between. But He Was One Of A Kind....he Arrived In Our Lives As An Alien But He Ended Up Touching Every Element Of The Human Spirit
Doctors
Touching
President
I Don't Believe That The American People Want Us To Focus On Our Job Security. They Want Us To Focus On Their Job Security. I Don't Think They Want More Gridlock. I Don't Think They Want More Partisanship. I Don't Think They Want More Obstruction. They Didn't Send Us To Washington To Fight Each Other In Some Sort Of Political Steel-cage Match To See Who Comes Out Alive. That's Not What They Want. They Sent Us To Washington To Work Together, To Get Things Done, And To Solve The Problems That They're Grappling With Every Single Day.
Jobs
Believe
Fighting
Theoretically, You Can Make, Obviously, A Powerful Argument That Centuries Of Slavery, Jim Crow, Discrimination Are The Primary Cause For All Those Gaps. That Those Were Wrongs Done To The Black Community As A Whole, And Black Families Specifically, And That In Order To Close That Gap, A Society Has A Moral Obligation To Make A Large, Aggressive Investment, Even If It's Not In The Form Of Individual Reparations Checks, But In The Form Of A Marshall Plan, In Order To Close Those Gaps. It Is Easy To Make That Theoretical Argument.
Powerful
Order
Community
Faith Doesn't Mean That You Don't Have Doubts.
Moving On
Faith
Letting Go
Issues Are Never Simple. One Thing I'm Proud Of Is That Very Rarely Will You Hear Me Simplify The Issues.
Powerful
Simple
Issues
So Americans Understand The Costs Of War. Yet As A Country, We Will Never Tolerate Our Security Being Threatened, Nor Stand Idly By When Our People Have Been Killed. We Will Be Relentless In Defense Of Our Citizens And Our Friends And Allies. We Will Be True To The Values That Make Us Who We Are.
Country
War
Patriotic
I Think The Most Important Thing Is To Take The Long View On Things. We Live In Such A 24/7, Twitter-fed, Constant News Cycle, And Everything's A Crisis, Everything Is Terrible, Everything Is Doomsday, Everything Is - If It Doesn't Get Solved Tomorrow, Your Presidency Is Going Off The Rails.
Thinking
Views
Long
In The Wealthiest Nation On Earth – No Illness Or Accident Should Lead To Any Family’s Financial Ruin.
Health
Earth
Ruins
The Opportunity Will Not Remain Open Indefinitely.
Opportunity
The Fact Is That I'm Also Friendly With Tom Coburn, One Of The Most Conservative Republicans In The United States Senate, Who, During His Campaign, Once Said That It Might Be Appropriate To Apply The Death Penalty To Those Who Carried Out Abortions.
Abortion
Friendly
United States
I Think That The Issues We Have With Science These Days Are Not Restricted To What's Happening With Respect To Religion. There Are A Lot Of Very Religious Scientists Around.
Religious
Thinking
Issues
If I Did Not Love America, I Wouldn't Have Moved Here From Kenya.
America
Kenya
Moved
Michelle [obama] Never Fully Took To The Scrutiny. I Mean, She's Thrived As A First Lady, But It's Not Her Preference.
Mean
Firsts
Preference
When You've Got Little Kids, And You're Tucking Them In. When You Open A Door And They're In Their Pajamas And They're, You Know, Wrestling With You And Asking You, You Know, To Read To Them And Stuff, [the White House] Starts Feeling Like Home Pretty Quick. Not To Mention Having A Mother-in-law Upstairs, And The Dog, And Now Two.
Mother
Dog
Kids
The Shadow Of Crisis Has Passed, And The State Of The Union Is Strong.
Strong
Shadow
Unions
Islam Is Not Part Of The Problem In Combating Violent Extremism - It Is An Important Part Of Promoting Peace.
Mind Blowing
Important
Islam
There Have Been Times Where, Let's Say On Lgbt Issues, When We Were Trying To End Don't Ask, Don't Tell, And I Got The Pentagon And Bob Gates, A Republican Holdover From The [george W.] Bush Administration, To Authorize A Study Of How You Might End Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Headed Up By Jeh Johnson, Who At That Time Was A Council To The Justice Department. And It Was Going To Take A Year To Conduct That Study, Issue A Report, And Figure Out How It Might Be Implemented, What Effect It Would Have On Unit Cohesion And Military Effectiveness.
Military
Years
Effectiveness
Affirmative Action Is Not Going To Be The Long-term Solution To The Problems Of Race In America, Because, Frankly, If You've Got 50 Percent Of African-american Or Latino Kids Dropping Out Of High School, It Doesn't Really Matter What You Do In Terms Of Affirmative Action. Those Kids Aren't Going To College.
School
Kids
College
I Still Don't Feel Responsible For What Donald Trump Says Or Does. But I Do Feel A Responsibility As President Of The United States To Make Sure That I Facilitate A Good Transition And I Present To Him As Well, As The American People My Best Thinking, My Best Ideas About How You Move The Country Forward. To Speak Out With Respect To Areas Where I Think The Republican Party's Wrong, But To Pledge To Work With Them On Those Things That I Think Will Advance The Causes Of Security And Prosperity And Justice And Inclusiveness In America.
Country
Moving
Party
But Having Made My Decision As Commander-in-chief Based On What I Am Convinced Is Our National Security Interests, I Will Seek Authorization For The Use Of Force From The American People's Representatives In Congress.
Military
Government
Long
I Don't Think Marriage Is A Civil Right, But I Think That Being Able To Transfer Property Is A Civil Right.
Thinking
Civil Rights
Able
We Remain The Most Prosperous, Powerful Nation On Earth. Our Workers Are No Less Productive Than When This Crisis Began. Our Minds Are No Less Inventive, Our Goods And Services No Less Needed Than They Were Last Week Or Last Month Or Last Year
Money
Powerful
Years
The Challenge There Is That Isil Doesn't Have An Air Force, So The Damage Done There Is Not Against Isil, It's Against The Syrian Regime.
Air
Challenges
Done
My God, Donald Trump Is Unfit! He's Ill-tempered, He's Unsuited, He Is Not Qualified, He's Unsuited To Be President.
President
Ill Tempered
Trump
If You Look At Libya, I Was Deeply Concerned About What Would Happen After Qaddafi Was Gone.
Looks
Gone
Libya
I Am Designating A New Director Of Recovery For Auto Communities And Workers To Cut Through Red Tape And Ensure That The Full Resources Of Our Federal Government Are Leveraged To Assist The Workers, Communities, And Regions That Rely On Our Auto Industry.
Recovery
Cutting
Government
We've Got A Lot Of Work To Do Economically In This Country To Bring About A More Just And Fair Economy.
Country
Justice
Economy
I Think What You're Seeing Is A Profound Recognition On The Part Of The American People That Gays And Lesbians And Transgender Persons Are Our Brothers, Our Sisters, Our Children, Our Cousins, Our Friends, Our Co-workers, And That They've Got To Be Treated Like Every Other American. And I Think That Principle Will Win Out.
Inspirational
Cousin
Brother
If We're Not Vigilant Foreign Countries Can Have An Impact On The Political Debate In The United States In Ways That Might Not Have Been True 10, 20, 30 Years Ago In - In Part Because Of The Way News Is Transmitted And In Part Because So Many People Are Skeptical Of Mainstream News Organizations That - Everything's True And Everything's False.
Country
Years
Organization
This Is My Last Election. After My Election, I Have More Flexibility.
Lasts
Election
Flexibility
I Think If You Look At Almost Every Year Under Every President Over The Last, I Don't Know, 20, 30 Years, You're Going To Be Hard-pressed To Find A Year In Which The Majority Of Americans Thought We Were On The Right Track.
Thinking
Years
Track
The Most Powerful Political Moments For Me Come When I Feel Like My Actions Are Aligned With A Certain Truth. I Can Feel It. When I'm Talking To A Group And I'm Saying Something Truthful, I Can Feel A Power That Comes Out Of Those Statements That Is Different Than When I'm Just Being Glib Or Clever.
Clever
Powerful
Talking
I Will Never Forget Who This Victory Truly Belongs To. It Belongs To You.
Powerful
Victory
Never Forget
At The Dawn Of The 21st Century, Where Knowledge Is Literally Power, Where It Unlocks The Gates Of Opportunity And Success, We All Have Responsibilities As Parents, As Librarians, As Educators, As Politicians, And As Citizens To Instill In Our Children A Love Of Reading So That We Can Give Them A Chance To Fulfill Their Dreams.
Dream
Children
Reading
The Fact That We Are Here Today To Debate Raising America's Debt Limit Is A Sign Of Leadership Failure. America Has A Debt Problem And A Failure Of Leadership. Americans Deserve Better. I, Therefore, Intend To Oppose The Effort To Increase America's Debt.
Leadership
America
Effort
You And I, As Citizens, Have The Obligation To Shape The Debates Of Our Time, Not Only With The Votes We Cast, But The Voices We Lift In Defense Of Our Most Ancient Values And Enduring Ideas.
Ideas
Voice
Pro Life
Together We Resolve That A Great Nation Must Care For The Vulnerable And Protect Its People From Life's Worst Hazards And Misfortune.
People
Pro Life
Together
Our Focus On The Investigation Is Really Wide-ranging. And We Can't Limit It To Just One Point In Time.
Focus
Limits
Investigation
You Have To Exercise, Or At Some Point You'll Just Break Down.
Exercise
Presidential
Healthy
The Hard Truth Is Carbon Pollution Has Built Up In Our Atmosphere For Decades Now. And Even If We Americans Do Our Part, The Planet Will Slowly Keep Warming For Some Time To Come.
Atmosphere
Truth Is
Pollution
I Think That The Risk To All The Progress We've Made Was At Stake In The Election Because Not Just The President-elect But A Lot Of Members Of Congress, Including Now The Speaker Of The House And The Senate Majority Leader, Have Said That Their Principal Agenda Was To Undo A Lot Of This Progress. But As I've Been Talking About Over The Last Several Days When It Comes To Health Care, The Gains That We've Made Are There. Twenty Million People Have Health Insurance That Didn't Have It Before. The Uninsured Rate Is The Lowest It's Ever Been.
Thinking
Talking
Majority Leader
I Don't Believe People Should To Be Able To Own Guns.
Believe
Gun
People
We Can't Drive Our Suvs And Eat As Much As We Want And Keep Our Homes On 72 Degrees At All Times... And Then Just Expect That Other Countries Are Going To Say Ok. That's Not Leadership. That's Not Going To Happen.
Leadership
Country
Home
America Leads - Not With Bluster, But With Persistent, Steady Resolve.
America
Bluster
Resolve
I Want To Deal With The Homeless Situation Here In Washington, D.c. I Think It Is A Travesty That We've Got Men - And Increasingly Women - Families, Across The Street And The In Shadow Of This Great Capital, That Shows A Lack Of Concern, Not Just For The Capital, But For American, When We Are Allowing Something Like That To Happen.
Men
Thinking
Shadow
My Administration Will Be The Most Transparent In History
Administration
Transparent
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
Alongside My Own Deep Personal Faith, I Am A Follower, As Well, Of Our Civic Religion. I Am A Big Believer In The Separation Of Church And State.
Church
Followers
Separation
I've Always Viewed The Paris Agreement As A Starting Point. If You Look At All The Commitments That Have Been Made By All The Countries, It's Still Not Sufficient To Deal With The Very Dangerous Situation We Face. What It Has Done Is That It Created An Architecture Whereby As Technology Improves, As We Find New Clean Sources Of Energy, As We Make Our Economies More Efficient, Then Gradually We Can Turn Up The Dial And Improve The Outcomes Of Paris.
Country
Commitment
Technology
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
They, And We, Are The Legacies Of An Unbroken Chain Of Proud Men And Women Who Served Their Country With Honor, Who Waged War So That We Might Know Peace, Who Braved Hardship So That We Might Know Opportunity, Who Paid The Ultimate Price So That We Might Know Freedom.
Country
Memorial Day
War
In My Heart I Know You Didn't Come Here Just For Me, You Came Here Because You Believe In What This Country Can Be. In The Face Of War, You Believe There Can Be Peace. In The Face Of Despair, You Believe There Can Be Hope. In The Face Of A Politics That's Shut You Out, That's Told You To Settle, That's Divided Us For Too Long, You Believe We Can Be One People, Reaching For What's Possible, Building That More Perfect Union.
Country
Business
War
We Are Committed To A World In Which We Keep America Safe, But We Recognize That Our Power Doesn't Just Flow From Our Extraordinary Military But Also Flows From The Strength In Our Ideals And Our Principles And Our Values.
Military
America
Principles
We Do Not Consider Ourselves A Christian Nation.
Christian
Mind Blowing
Islam
What Is The Empathy Deficit? The Inability Of People To Stand In Other Folks Shoes. It's Hard To Empathize With People Who Have Different Values Than You
Shoes
People
Empathy
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
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
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
Consistent With Section 202(d) Of The National Emergencies Act, 50 U.s.c. 1622(d), I Am Continuing For 1 Year The National Emergency Previously Declared On September 14, 2001, In Proclamation 7463, With Respect To The Terrorist Attacks Of September 11, 2001, And The Continuing And Immediate Threat Of Further Attacks On The United States. Because The Terrorist Threat Continues, The National Emergency Declared On September 14, 2001, And The Powers And Authorities Adopted To Deal With That Emergency Must Continue In Effect Beyond September 14, 2010.
Years
September 11
President
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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