Barack Obama

First Black US President

Contemporary influential 122 sayings

Sayings by Barack Obama

I'm a pretty good listener.

2014 — Interview with The New Yorker
Controversial Unverifiable

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

2008 — Speech at the Democratic National Convention
Controversial Unverifiable

Hope is not blind optimism. It's not a naive faith that things will turn out for the best. It's a belief that if we work hard enough, we can make things better.

2008 — Remarks at a campaign rally
Controversial Unverifiable

Don't tell me words don't matter. 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words. Just words? 'We the People.' Just words.

2008 — Speech at a campaign rally
Controversial Unverifiable

Yes, we can.

2008 — Various campaign speeches
Controversial Unverifiable

I actually think I'm a pretty good basketball player.

2008 — Interview with ESPN
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm not going to tell you that this is going to be easy. But I am going to tell you that it's going to be worth it.

2010 — Remarks on the Affordable Care Act
Controversial Unverifiable

We are the change we seek.

2008 — Speech at the Democratic National Convention
Controversial Unverifiable

America is a story of progress, a story of struggle, a story of hope, and a story of resilience.

2017 — Farewell Address
Controversial Unverifiable

Don't boo. Vote.

2016 — Remarks at a campaign rally
Controversial Unverifiable

When they go low, we go high.

2016 — Remarks by Michelle Obama, but often associated with the Obama administration's approach
Controversial Unverifiable

We are still the country of strong, resilient, optimistic Americans who are willing to work hard and to make sacrifices for a brighter future.

2016 — Remarks at a press conference
Controversial Unverifiable

America is not a country that punishes success.

2012 — Remarks on tax policy
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm not going to apologize for believing that we should all have a chance to succeed.

2012 — Remarks at a campaign rally
Controversial Unverifiable

The future is in our hands.

2016 — Remarks at a press conference
Controversial Unverifiable

You didn’t build that.

2012 — Speech criticizing self-made business rhetoric
Controversial Unverifiable

They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them.

2008 — Private fundraiser remarks about working-class voters
Controversial Unverifiable

The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.

2012 — Speech at the UN General Assembly
Controversial Unverifiable

The police acted stupidly.

2009 — Comment on arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Controversial Unverifiable

I have to say, though, I do not miss wearing a tie every day. Even if it's a really nice tie, it's a little constricting.

2018 — Interview with David Letterman for 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction'
Humorous Unverifiable