Maybe the critics are right. Maybe there’s no escaping our great political divide, an endless clash of armies, and any attempts to alter the rules of engagement are futile. Or maybe the trivialization of politics has reached a point of no return, so that most people see it as just one more diversion, a sport, with politicians our paunch-bellied gladiators and those who bother to pay attention just fans on the sidelines: We paint our faces red or blue and cheer our side and boo their side, and if it takes a late hit or cheap shot to beat the other team, so be it, for winning is all that matters. But I don’t think so.

BARACK OBAMA, The Audacity of Hope

“I think it takes a LOT of late hits and cheap shots to beat the other team. Here comes the BOOM, baby!”

When I ran for the U.S. Senate the assumption was that anyone’s name that was close to “Osama” doesn’t stand a chance. So if somebody thought that tacking on “Hussein” in there would be a killer, then I think they underestimate the American people and the seriousness of the problems we face.

BARACK OBAMA, Newsweek, January 1, 2007

“They also underestimate how much low-information voters love free stuff.”

We have to acknowledge the progress we made, but understand that we still have a long way to go. That things are better, but still not good enough.

BARACK OBAMA, Larry King Live, Oct. 19, 2006

“When will it finally be good enough? When I make this country hit rock bottom.”

We also believe that we have a larger responsibility to one another as Americans – that America is a place – that America is the place – where you can make it if you try. That no matter how much money you start with or where you come from or who your parents are, opportunity is yours if you’re willing to reach for it and work for it. It’s the idea that while there are few guarantees in life, you should be able to count on a job that pays the bills; health care for when you need it; a pension for when you retire; an education for your children that will allow them to fulfill their God-given potential.

BARACK OBAMA, speech, May 6, 2008

“And a government that will tax you, snoop on you, and fondle you at the airport. Yay! America!”

Hope — Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

BARACK OBAMA, speech, 2004 DNC Convention

“I have stamped that gift ‘return to sender'”.

I think the American people, at their core, are a decent people. I think that we still have prejudice in our midst but I think that the vast majority of Americans are willing to judge people on the basis of, you know, their ideas and their character. And in the case of the presidency, I think what is most important is whether the American people think that you understand their hopes and dreams and struggles and whether they think that you can actually help them achieve those hopes and dreams.

BARACK OBAMA, CNN interview, Nov. 20, 2006

“Please don’t judge me on the basis of, you know, whether I’m competent at my job.”

The internet today is an open platform where the demand for websites and services dictates success. You’ve got barriers to entry that are low and equal for all comers. And it’s because the internet is a neutral platform that I can put on this podcast and transmit it over the internet without having to go through some corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without censorship. I don’t have to pay a special charge. But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the internet as we know it. They say they want to create high-speed lanes on the internet and strike exclusive contractual arrangements with internet content-providers for access to those high-speed lanes. Those of us who can’t pony up the cash for these high-speed connections will be relegated to the slow lanes … We can’t have a situation in which the corporate duopoly dictates the future of the internet and that’s why I’m supporting what is called net neutrality.

BARACK OBAMA, podcast, Jun. 8, 2006

“Your internet will run SO much better with the government in charge – just like health care, the Post Office, and the DMV!”

Look, we live in a celebrity culture and sometimes you get caught in the wave and the buzz and a lot of it’s flattering but, you know, one of the things that I try to remind people of is, is that I was in politics as a state senator operating in obscurity for many years. Before that I was a community organizer working in low income communities in Chicago and nobody knew my name then. And so, having involved myself in public service for a pretty long time without getting too much attention, hopefully I can keep some of the attention that I’m getting now in perspective.

BARACK OBAMA, Larry King Live, Oct. 19, 2006

“Look how important I am now! Pay attention to MEEEEEEEEE!… unless I’m doing something wrong, in which case – LOOK! SQUIRREL!”

My belief in terms of moving forward on the ethics legislation is that we’ve got some low-hanging fruit that we should take care of right away. For example, it shouldn’t be tough to say lobbyists can’t buy you a fancy meal.

BARACK OBAMA, Meet the Press, Jan. 22, 2006

“Now, if it’s on the TAXPAYER’S dime – chow down!”

I do think that there is a big difference between family farms and agri-business, and one of the distressing things that I think has occurred is with consolidation of farm lands. You’ve seen large agri-businesses benefit from enormous profits from existing farm programs, and I think we should be focusing most of those programs on those family farmers.

BARACK OBAMA, debate, Oct. 12, 2004

“Otherwise, how will family farmers have enough money so that they can donate to Democrat campaigns so that we can vote for more subsidies for family farms?”

Jay Carney said that, when it comes to implementing Obamacare, “we are flexible”.

Yes, they’re equally willing to let businesses be either crushed OR strangled.

Most people who meet my wife quickly conclude that she is remarkable. They are right about this. She is smart, funny and thoroughly charming. Often, after hearing her speak at some function or working with her on a project, people will approach me and say something to the effect of, you know, I think the world of you, Barack, but your wife, wow!

BARACK OBAMA, The Audacity of Hope

“Yeah, well, all I can say is that these people never beat her at holo-chess… Ow…”

We’ve got a tax code that is encouraging flight of jobs and outsourcing. And that’s why we’ve specifically recommended … that Congress change our tax code so that we stop giving tax breaks to companies that are moving to Mexico and China and other places, and start putting those tax breaks into companies that are investing here in the United States.

BARACK OBAMA, debate, Oct. 12, 2004

“Technically, a bankrupt solar power firm isn’t shipping jobs overseas.”

I am convinced that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. For it’s precisely the pursuit of ideological purity, the rigid orthodoxy and the sheer predictability of our current political debate, that keeps us from finding new ways to meet the challenges we face as a country.

BARACK OBAMA, The Audacity of Hope

“So… no more political debate. Shut up and do it my way.”

Our goal is to have a country that’s not divided by race. And my impression, as I travel around the country, is that that’s the kind of country that most people want, as well, and that we all have prejudice, we all have certain suspicions or stereotypes about people who are different from us, whether it’s religious or racial or ethnic, but what I think I found in the American people, I think there’s a core decency there, where if they take the time, if they get the time to know individuals, then they want to judge those individuals by their character.

BARACK OBAMA, Larry King Live, Oct. 19, 2006

“And if you disagree with me, then you’re just a racist who hates me because I’m black.”

NOTE: Maybe it’s just me, but the phrase “what I think I found in the American people” strikes me as odd… like something that would be said by someone who didn’t consider himself one of “the American people”. It’s the phrase of an outsider who’s looking in, like Ross Perot’s infamous “you people“.