When you start just focusing exclusively on trying to tear the other person down instead of what you are going to do on behalf of the American people to deal with this economy, then that’s not serving Democrats, that’s not serving Republicans, that’s not serving anybody.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Sep. 6, 2008
“But as long as it’s serving me, who cares?”
The government can’t solve every problem, but an enlightened government can make sure that people can work hard for their dreams and achieve them.
BARACK OBAMA, Ladies’ Home Journal, Sep. 2008
“The government’s dreams, not the people’s.”
You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq.
BARACK OBAMA, DNC speech, Aug. 28, 2008
“You do it by fighting on their side in Syria using unbelievably small attacks.”
UPDATE: [High Praise! to ObiTroy]
As President, I’ll invest in renewable energies like wind power, solar power, and the next generation of homegrown biofuels. That’s how America is going to free itself from our dependence on foreign oil – not through short-term gimmicks, but through a real, long-term commitment to transform our energy sector.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jul. 31, 2008
“So basically a long-term commitment to short-term gimmicks.”
You don’t expect government to solve all your problems. You want to be self-reliant and independent. You want to be responsible for your own lives and take care of your own families. But what you do expect is a government that isn’t run by the special interests. What you do expect is that if you’re willing to work hard, you should be able to find a job that pays a decent wage, that you shouldn’t go bankrupt when you get sick, that you should be able to send your children to college even if you’re not rich, and that you should be able to retire with dignity and security.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Aug. 2, 2008
“Basically you expect government to steal other people’s money & hand it over to you, because you’re too chicken to mug them yourself. I’ve got no problem with that.”
We need not throw away 200 years of American jurisprudence while we fight terrorism. We need not choose between our most deeply held values, and keeping this nation safe.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jun. 18, 2008
“I’m going to choose for you, and I’m going to safe the heck out of you! So long, values!”
I refuse to be lectured on national security by people who are responsible for the most disastrous set of foreign policy decisions in the recent history of the United States. The other side likes to use 9/11 as a political bludgeon. Well, let’s talk about 9/11. The people who were responsible for murdering 3,000 Americans on 9/11 have not been brought to justice. They are Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and their sponsors – the Taliban. They were in Afghanistan. And yet George Bush and John McCain decided in 2002 that we should take our eye off of Afghanistan so that we could invade and occupy a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. The case for war in Iraq was so thin that George Bush and John McCain had to hype the threat of Saddam Hussein, and make false promises that we’d be greeted as liberators. They misled the American people, and took us into a misguided war. Here are the results of their policy. Osama bin Laden and his top leadership – the people who murdered 3000 Americans – have a safe-haven in northwest Pakistan, where they operate with such freedom of action that they can still put out hate-filled audiotapes to the outside world. That’s the result of the Bush-McCain approach to the war on terrorism.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jun. 18, 2008
“Now we can finally get the REAL culprit behind 9/11 – Syria – and stop those hate-filled audio tapes once and for all!”
We will remember that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea:– Yes. We. Can.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jan. 8, 2008
“By which I imply five more words: ‘…and you can’t stop us’.”
Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jan. 8, 2008
“Except every elected Democrat in DC and a passel of sycophantic media stooges.”
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.
BARACK OBAMA, DNC speech, Aug. 28, 2008
“It ‘should’, but you can count on me to make sure it doesn’t.”
That’s the promise of America – the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.
BARACK OBAMA, DNC speech, Aug. 28, 2008
“Just to clarify, brothers and sisters – *I’m* the keeper, and there’s no escape.”
Life doesn’t count for much unless you’re willing to do your small part to leave our children – all of our children – a better world. Even if it’s difficult. Even if the work seems great. Even if we don’t get very far in our lifetime.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Jun. 15, 2008
“But there’s an easy solution: free abortion and contraception. No children, no problem!”
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
BARACK OBAMA, DNC speech, Aug. 28, 2008
“Anyway, now that I’ve admitted that only conservative positions actually sound sane or reasonable, roll over and give me abortion, gun bans, gay marriage, and amnesty for illegals.”
If those Republicans come at me with the same fear-mongering and swift-boating that they usually do, then I will take them head on. Because I believe the American people are tired of fear and tired of distractions and tired of diversions. We can make this election not about fear, but about the future. And that won’t just be a Democratic victory; that will be an American victory.
BARACK OBAMA, speech Nov. 10, 2007
“The Democratic victory will come after the election when we make Americans fear the future.”
I have asserted a firm conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people–that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
BARACK OBAMA, speech, Mar. 18, 2008
“Oops… looks like the ol’ car just got driven into a ditch again”
