Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii.
When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist.
Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six.
He later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his grandparents.
The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy.
His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten.
Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable.
He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings.
He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation.
He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, and married Michelle Robinson, a fellow attorney.
Eventually he was elected to the Illinois state senate, where his district included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side.
In 2004 Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and he gained national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
In 2008 he ran for President, and despite having only four years of national political experience, he won.
In January 2009, he was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American ever elected to that position. Obama was reelected to a second term in November 2012.
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Overview (4) |
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Personal Quotes (87)
Overview (4)
| Date of Birth | 4 August 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
| Birth Name | Barack Hussein Obama II |
| Nicknames |
Barry Bama Rock The One No Drama Obama Mr. President |
| Height | 6' 1" (1.85 m) |
Mini Bio (1)
Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr.,
who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii. When
his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his
father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a
government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil
manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six. He later recounted
Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical
poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought up largely by his
grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather
was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his
grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou
School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly
but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya,
he visited only once, when Barack was ten. Obama attended Columbia
University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a
community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three
years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant
closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the
first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He turned down a
prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice
civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and
employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He
also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School, and married
Michelle Robinson, a fellow attorney. Eventually he was elected to the
Illinois state senate, where his district included both Hyde Park and
some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side. In 2004 Obama was elected
to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat, representing Illinois, and he gained
national attention by giving a rousing and well-received keynote speech
at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. In 2008 he ran for
President, and despite having only four years of national political
experience, he won. In January 2009, he was sworn in as the 44th
President of the United States, and the first African-American ever
elected to that position. Obama was reelected to a second term in
November 2012.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
Spouse (1)
| Michelle Obama | (3 October 1992 - present) (2 children) |
Trade Mark (2)
Rolled up sleeves
Strong, Inspiring Speeches.
Trivia (81)
His first name comes from the word that means "blessed by God" in Arabic.
In the Kenyan town where his father was born, the long-brewed "Senator" brand of beer has been nicknamed "Obama."
U.S. Senator from Illinois since 3 January 2005.
Won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word for the CD version of his autobiography "Dreams From My Father" (2006).
Lived in Hyde Park in Chicago.
On Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993), he revealed that President George W. Bush nicknamed him "Bama" and "Rock".
He is a sixth cousin once removed to Park Overall.
Candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 US presidential election.
Several celebrities including; Halle Berry, George Clooney, Sheryl Crow, Bob Dylan, Topher Grace, Macy Gray, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Hayden Panettiere, Zachary Quinto, Eddie Murphy and John Cleese support his 2008 presidential campaign. Robert De Niro gave his endorsement at the same rally where Barack was endorsed by Caroline and Ted Kennedy.
Enjoys playing basketball and poker.
At his wife's suggestion, he quit smoking before his campaign to win the Democratic nomination began.
His paternal relatives still live in Kenya.
Confessed teenage drug experiences in his memoirs "Dreams from My Father".
One of his ancestors was Mareen Duvall, also an ancestor of actor Robert Duvall.
Shares his surname with a small city in western Japan, which means "small shore" in Japanese.
Plays basketball.
Named one of Time magazine's "100 most influential people in the world" list in 2005 and 2007.
Chosen as one of "10 people would change the world" by New Statesman magazine (2005).
Won his second Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Audacity of Hope" (2008).
On June 3, 2008 he won the Montana primary election giving him
enough delegates to become the first Black American presidential
candidate to win a major political party's presumptive nomination for
the office of President of the United States.
Is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan.
More than 215,000 people attended his speech in Berlin on 24 July 2008.
Has one half-sister, Maya, born to his mother and stepfather in 1970.
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show Les guignols de l'info (1988).
Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham died Sunday
November 2, 2008 in the early evening in Honolulu from cancer. She was
86.
Is the first African-American man to be elected President of the United States (November 2008).
When elected President, he won the battleground states of North
Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which had voted
Republican in 2004.
Is the first American president to be born in Hawaii.
Was the 27th lawyer to be elected American president.
Was elected to be the 44th president of the Unites States of America on 4 November, 2008.
As a child growing up in Hawaii, his classmates knew him as Barry.
Presidential campaign slogan: "Change we can believe in".
Is primarily of Kenyan and English ancestry.
Favorite movies are Casablanca (1942), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Godfather (1972), and The Godfather: Part II (1974).
Is a fan of The Wire (2002).
First ever US President to address a Muslim community at an inaugural speech.
Shares the same birthday as long-time White House correspondent and journalism legend, Helen Thomas. On her 89th birthday (and his 48th), they celebrated by blowing birthday cupcakes together in front of the press corps.
First United States Senator to be elected President since John F. Kennedy.
October 2009, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fourth US President to win a Nobel Peace Prize (2009) after Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919) and Jimmy Carter (2002).
Defended his decision not to issue a formal written statement on the death of controversial pop star Michael Jackson on 25 June 2009.
Half-brother of Maya Soetoro-Ng.
Brother-in-law of Konrad Ng.
Merited a position in Time magazine's - The 100 Most Influential
People in the World ("Leaders" category) - with an homage contributed by
David Remnick (Issue: May 10, 2010).
Received a gift of a Portuguese water dog from Senator Ted Kennedy
and his wife Victoria. Because the particular breed is reportedly
hypo-allergenic, the First Family and friends were highly unlikely to
suffer any allergic reactions in the pet's presence.
Obama's appearance on The View (1997) (29 July 2010) made him the first ever sitting US President to appear as a guest on a daytime TV talk show.
Obama's birthplace of Hawaii makes him the first U.S. president not born in the continental United States.
Brother-in-law of basketball player, coach and author Craig Robinson.
Son of Barack Obama Sr..
The character of Matt Santos in 'The West Wing' is based on him.
The first US President to be born after the Vietnam War started.
Is a big fan of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and collected the comics as a youth.
Counts Homeland (2011) as one of his favorite TV shows.
First U.S. President to be personally presented with an Apple iPad 2 by Steve Jobs before it was officially released domestically. Obama is frequently seen using Apple devices.
Notable for being the first United States President to participate
in social media. He is the first President to have a personal Facebook
page and a Twitter account, and the first President to hold Q&A
sessions via those forums and YouTube. He is also the first sitting
President to own and use an iPod, Blackberry (custom made for security
purposes), and iPad.
His daily newspapers are The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, and The Washington Post. He claims to not watch cable TV news
stations.
Introduced the 50th anniversary television broadcast of To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Can speak Indonesian to a certain degree, having lived in Indonesia for a number of years during his childhood.
The TV presidential election campaign commercial for Obama featured, Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, Larry Gelbart, Valerie Harper, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (slogan: "This Ain't Funny, it's a serious election. Don't vote out of fear, vote for hope - Vote for Obama").
Was a classmate of Hill Harper's at Harvard Law School.
First United States President to be elected twice with over 50% of the popular vote since Ronald Reagan and the first Democratic President elected as such since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
First two-term President to take the Oath of Office four times.
The first time, during his televised first inauguration, Chief Justice
John Roberts made a mistake while reading the Oath of Office, which
Obama repeated to avoid embarrassment. A few days later, he called
Roberts into his office to do it again, and this time read it correctly.
By law, the President is sworn in at noon on January 20. In 2013, the
month and date fell on a Sunday, but to comply with the Blue Law (no
work on Sunday), he was sworn in privately in the Oval Office, and then
again publicly the next day. The two before him that were sworn in on
Monday, January 21st, were Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 and Ronald Reagan in 1985.
One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World (2013).
First US President since Jimmy Carter in 1979 to speak directly on the phone with a leader of Iran - Hassan Rouhani. [September 2013]
Elected the 44th President of the United States of America [November 2008]
In the 2008 presidential election, he won the state of North
Carolina with a 0.32% margin of victory. Normally considered a solid
Republican state, the margin was small enough that it took days after
the election to call the state, although this had little regard on
calling the election, as nationally it was a landslide victory and
winning or losing North Carolina would have made no difference. The last
time prior to this that North Carolina elected a democrat was in 1976
when they elected Jimmy Carter.
One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. [April 2014].
He is related to Jimmy Carter
in multiple ways. Through Adrian Gordy they are seventh cousins three
times removed. Through William Terrell and Susannah Waters they are
eighth cousins twice removed.
British author Anthony Horowitz wrote of a Black Prime Minister in 2009 not long before Obama was elected President.
First sitting US President to visit a federal prison when he
toured El Reno Correctional Institution in Oklahoma (July 16, 2015).
Became the first sitting US President to enter the Arctic Circle
when he visited Kotzebue, Alaska, to address the adverse effects of
global warming in that particular region (September 3, 2015).
When a USAF AC-130 gunship attacked the Kunduz Trauma Centre in Afghanistan 3 October 2015, President Barack Obama became the first Nobel Peace Prize winner to bomb another, namely, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
The President's favorite book of 2015 was "Fates and Furies" by award-winning author Lauren Groff.
First sitting US President since Calvin Coolidge
to visit Cuba in 88 years. In 1928 President Coolidge arrived in Cuba
on a battleship after a 3-day cruise, whereas President Obama touched
down in Havana aboard Air Force One after a 3-hour flight (20 March
2016).
How Much A Dollar Cost by Kendrick Lamar was his favorite song of 2015.
The first sitting president to visit Sweden's capital Stockholm in 2013. His predecessor George W. Bush visited second city Gothenburg.
Officially endorses Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Presidential race. (June 2016).
Personal Quotes (87)
[from keynote speech given at the 2004 Democratic party national
convention] There's not a liberal America and a conservative America.
There's the United States of America. We worship an awesome God in the
blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our
libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states,
and have gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed
the war, and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us
pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the
United States of America.
And it lives on in those Americans -- young and old, rich and
poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and
straight -- who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to
recapture the sense of common purpose that we had when John Kennedy was
President of the United States of America.
[regarding former President Bill Clinton's support for his wife--and Obama's opponent for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination--Hillary Clinton] Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against.
[when asked whether he would call on Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton
to release their tax returns, after Hilary loaned $5 million of her own
money to her campaign] I'll just say that I've released my tax returns.
That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American
people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave
it up to you guys to chase it down . . . I think we set the bar in terms
of transparency and disclosure that has been a consistent theme of my
campaign and my career in politics.
In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
When I am this party's [Democratic party] nominee, my opponent
will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave
[George W. Bush] the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney [former VP Dick Cheney]
policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not
be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or
not it is okay for America to torture - because it is NEVER okay. That's
why I am in it.
As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."
As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century - nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now."
This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are
stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian
children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time
we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't
learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's
problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids,
and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this
time.
Change is coming to America.
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You
know, we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things
with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams, are
not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective
institutions and organizations.
In Washington, the call this the Ownership Society, and it is
especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the
winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald
Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're
fired!"
In America, we have this strong bias toward individual action. You
know we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with
both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams are not
sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective
institutions and organizations.
In Washington, we call this the Ownership society, and it is
especially tempting because each of us believes we will always be the
winner in life's lottery, that we're the one who will be the next Donald
Trump, or at least we won't be the chump who Donald Trump says: "You're
fired!"
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 the structural
feminists and punk rock performance poets. We smoked cigarettes and wore
leather jackets. At night in the dorms, we discussed neocolonialism,
Franz Fanon, Eurocentrism and patriarchy. When we ground our cigarettes
in the hallway carpet or set our stereos so loud that the walls began to
shake, we were resisting bourgeois society's stifling constraints. We
weren't indifferent or careless or insecure. We were alienated.
(visiting Ireland) My name is Barack Obama of the Moneygall
O'Bamas. And I've come to find the apostrophe we lost along the way.
Hopefully, more and more people will begin to feel their story is
somehow a part of the larger story of how we're going to reshape America
in a way that is less mean spirited and more generous. I mean I really
hope to be a part of the transformation of this country.
I'm not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me. And I'm
not interested in isolating myself. I feel good when I'm engaged in what
I think are the core issues of the society, and those issues to me are
what's happening to poor folks in this society.
It's crucial that people don't see my election as a sign of
progress in the broader sense that we don't sort of point to a Barack
Obama any more than you point to a Bill Cosby or a Michael Jordan and
say "Well things are hunky dory".
To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize
the Warren court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the
essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the
Constitution, or at least as it's been interpreted and Warren court
interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a
charter of negative liberties, Says what the states can't do to you.
Says what the Federal government can't do to you, but doesn't say what
the Federal government or the state government must do on your behalf,
and that has shifted and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil
rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so
court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the
political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are
able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you
bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from
that.
Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan
Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own
electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built
entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing
legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere
political correctness or reverse racism.
You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of
small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years,
and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton
administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive
administration has said somehow these communities are going to
regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get
bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who
aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a
way to explain their frustrations.
It's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton
ballroom, or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper.
You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are
same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been
sitting around the dinner table and we're talking about their friends
and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that
somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't
make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a
change in perspective. (May 9, 2012)
I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I
have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about
members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous
relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together,
when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who
are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now
that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit
themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that
for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I
think same sex couples should be able to get married. (May 9, 2012)
I believe the majority of gun owners would agree we should do
everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing
weapons. And we should check someone's criminal record before they can
check out a gun seller. A mentally unbalanced individual should not be
able to get his hands on a gun so easily. These steps shouldn't be
controversial. They should be common sense.
We can't continue to sustain a situation in which some countries
are maintaining surpluses, others massive deficits and there never is
the kind of adjustment with respect to currency that would lead to a
more balanced growth pattern.
My image of Onyango, faint as it was, has always been of an
autocratic man - a cruel man, perhaps. But I had also imagined him an
independent man, a man of his people, opposed to white rule... What
Granny had told us scrambled that image completely, causing ugly words
to flash across my mind. Uncle Tom. Collaborator. House nigger.
The only way my life makes sense is if - regardless of culture,
race, religion, tribe - there is this commonality, these essential human
truths and passions and hope and moral precepts, that we can reach out
beyond our differences. If that is not the case, then it is pretty hard
for me to make sense of my life. That is the core of who I am.
[on election night, November 4, 2008] This is your victory. I will
ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's
been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick,
callused hand by callused hand.
[on the political choice as he sees it in 2012] This isn't a
matter of who's more patriotic or who is more empathetic toward people
or who is nicer. It's a hardheaded assessment of what makes our economy
grow. And the facts are on my side in this argument.
Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and
facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all
the time, is because we're hardwired not to think clearly when we're
scared.
What I wake up determined to accomplish every single day is making
the best decisions I can. And the only thing then to guide you is what
you genuinely think is best for the country. Because if you start trying
to guess what's going to be most politically advantageous or try to
game all that stuff out, you'll get lost very quickly.
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.
I do think at a certain point you've made enough money.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some
help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped
to create this unbelievable American system that we have allowed you to
thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business
- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.
Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later.
As President of our country and Commander-in-Chief of our
military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every
day, and I will always defend their right to do so.
If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas
and maybe make some up. If you don't have a record to run on, than you
paint your opponent as someone people should run away from.
[on Donald Trump's refusal to trust the validity of the
President's personal documents] This all dates back to when we were
growing up together in Kenya.
I've always believed that education begins at home, with parents
who take responsibility - who read to their kids, set limits on the TV
and instill a lifelong love of learning. But there is no substitute for a
good school or the teacher who stands in front of the classroom.
[to the crowd at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration] I want to look out one more time. I'm not going to see this again.
The truth is that we have steadily become a more diverse and
tolerant country that embraces people's differences and respect people
who are not like us. That's a profoundly good thing. That's one of the
strengths of America.
[on the 2012 campaign trail] If you buy into the cynicism that the
change we fought for isn't possible, well, change will not happen.
Other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests, the
people with ten million dollar checks who are trying to buy this
election.
[on Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)] The people of Oklahoma are
lucky to have someone like Tom representing them in Washington - someone
who speaks his mind, sticks to his principles and is committed to the
people he was elected to serve. Each of us still hopes the other will
see the light. But in the meantime, we'll settle for being friends.
[ at the 2009 White House Correspondents Dinner] Mother's Day is a
tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word
'day' after 'mother'.
AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers and not in the hands of
crooks. They belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our
cities.
[on Nelson Mandela]
I had read his writings and speeches and understood this was somebody
who believed in the basic principle I just talked about - treating
people equally. He was willing to sacrifice his life for that belief.
He's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard. He's a
hero for the world. If and when he passes from this place, one thing we
all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the
ages.
We discussed the fact that Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by
the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of
Thomas Jefferson.
Trayvon Martin could have been me thirty-five years ago.
[on the outlawed use of poison gas in Syria] I didn't set a red line, the world set a red line.
[to Dmitri Medvedev] This is my last election, after my election, I'll have more flexibility.
[on why he quit smoking] I haven't had a cigarette in probably six years. That's because I'm scared of my wife.
[on critics of American engagement with Iran, 2013] Tough talk and
bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it's not the right
thing to do for our security.
No party has a monopoly on wisdom.
[from a 2012 campaign speech] If you give up on the idea that your
voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: the
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.
[on the passing of Pete Seeger at age 94] Once called 'America's
tuning fork', Pete Seeger believed deeply in the power of song. But more
importantly, he believed in the power of community - to stand up for
what's right, speak out against what's wrong, and move this country
closer to the America he knew we could be. Over the years, Pete used his
voice - and his hammer - to strike blows for workers' rights and civil
rights; world peace and environmental conservation. And he always
invited us to sing along. For reminding us where we came from and
showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful for Pete
Seeger.
[at the 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner, on government
gridlock] If you want to get paid while not working, you should have to
run for Congress like everyone else.
[In response to the issue of rising US gun violence after another
school shooting] We're the only developed country on Earth where this
happens. And it happens now once a week. And it's a one-day story.
There's no place else like this.
[downplaying the role of military action in U.S. global
leadership] Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that
every problem is a nail.
[to the graduating class at West Point, 2014] For the foreseeable
future, the most direct threat to America, at home and abroad, remains
terrorism. But a strategy that involves invading every country that
harbours terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable.
[2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner Speech] It is great to be
back. What a year, huh? I usually start these dinners with a few
self-deprecating jokes. After my stellar 2013, what can I possibly talk
about? I admit it - last year was rough. Sheesh. At one point, things
got so bad, the 47 percent called Mitt Romney to apologize.
[2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner Speech] Let's face it,
Fox, you'll miss me when I'm gone. It will be harder to convince the
American people that Hillary was born in Kenya.
[from a speech on November 20, 2014] To those members of Congress
who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or
question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one
answer: Pass a bill.
We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States.
We are not at war with Islam.
[on commuting prison sentences for 46 drug offenders, July 13,
2015] These men and women were not violent criminals , but the
overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least twenty years.
Fourteen of them had been to sentenced to life for non-violent drug
offenses, so their punishments didn't fit the crime. I believe that
America, at its heart, is a nation of second chances, and I believe
these folks deserve their second chance.
[on the U.S. and Cuba re-opening their embassies, 2015 ] We don't have to be imprisoned by the past.
[addressing the climate change issue] We only get one planet. There is no Plan B.
[when asked if he thinks Bill Clinton was the first "black"
president]I think Bill Clinton did have an enormous affinity with the
African American community and still does and that's well-earned like
John (Edwards) one of the things I've always been inspired by is young
men and women who grew up in the south when segregation was still taking
place when the transformation that are still incomplete that at least
had begun had not yet begun and to see that transformation in their own
lives I think that is powerful and that it is hopeful because what
indicates is that people can change and each successive generation can
create a different vision on how we have to treat each other and I think
Bill Clinton embodies that and he deserves credit for that I would have
to investigate Bill's dancing abilities some other southern stuff to
accurately judge if he was in fact a brother
[on the rampage of school shootings in America, 2015] Our thoughts and prayers are not enough.
[Announcing the successful assignation of Osama bin Laden]
Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the
United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden,
the leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder
of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. For over two decades,
he has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol, and has continued to plot
attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin
Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's
effort to defeat al Qaeda.
[His response when a child asks him at a campaign rally "why do
people hate you?"] I did get elected President, so not everybody hates
me. If you're been watching TV lately, it seems like everybody is just
getting mad all the time. Some of it is just called politics, when our
party wins, the other party feels like they need to poke you a little
bit, so it'll keep you on your toes. So you shouldn't take it too
seriously. They are worried about their own lives because a lot of
people are losing their jobs right now and a lot of people are losing
their health care. A lot of people lost their homes to foreclosure, so
they're feeling frustrated and when you're President of the United
States, you've got to deal with all of that.
[Conclusion of 2012 election victory speech] And together, with
your help and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward and
remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on
earth. Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States.
[Giving his approval for the mission to kill Osama bin Laden] It's a go.
[on one of the few regrets he has about his presidency] A
president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better
bridged the divide.
[after North Korea launched a satellite into space] They are not
very good at feeding their people, but they invest a huge amount in
their weapons.
The only constraints on America's future are the ones we impose on
ourselves. That's always been the case with America - our destiny isn't
decided for us - but by us. And as long as we give our young people
every tool and every chance to decide the future for themselves, I have
incredible faith in the choices they'll make.
[2016, on the Republican presidential candidates] Have you noticed
that every one of these candidates say, "Obama's weak! Putin's kicking
sand in his face! When I talk to Putin, he's gonna straighten out..."
And then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.
Climate change is a potential existential threat to the entire
world if we don't do something about it... it is a political problem
perfectly designed to repel government intervention. It involves every
single country, and it is a comparatively slow-moving emergency, so
there is always something seemingly more urgent on the agenda.
[on his visit to Cuba, 2016] I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
I'd rather be a good one term president than a mediocre two term president.
[When asked if capturing Bin Laden was the most important day of
his presidency] It was the most single "day" of my Presidency the most
intense, concentrated "day" of my presidency.
[At 2004 White House correspondents dinner, referring to Hilary
Clinton losing the Democratic party nomination and appointing her
Secretary of State under his administration] If you can't beat 'em, join
'em.
[Impersonating Kobe Bryant's farewell speech] Obama OUT!
[to the delegates at the first United State of Women summit, 2016]
I may be a little grayer than I was eight years ago, but this is what a
feminist looks like.
[on Donald Trump]
I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said
so last week [at the Democratic national convention], and he keeps on
proving it. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family [the name
for a family whose relative has died in service] that had made such
extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he
doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe,
in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do
this job. (...) There has to come a point at which you say somebody who
makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment, the
temperament, the understanding to occupy the most powerful position in
the world because a lot of people depend on the White House getting
stuff right. [2016]
[on Michelle and their daughters traveling to China] I don't worry
too much whenever or wherever they're traveling, they're surrounded by
men with guns.
[To the crowd after he mentions Donald Trump's political agenda and the crows starts booing] Don't boo, vote!
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