This kind of gaping inequality gives lie to the promise thatโs at the very heart of America: that this is a place where you can make it if you try. We tell people - we tell our kids - that in this country, even if youโre born with nothing, work hard and you can get into the middle class. We tell them that your children will have a chance to do even better than you do. Thatโs why immigrants from around the world historically have flocked to our shores.
Barack ObamaI think that I'm a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I'll tell you right now that I'm gonna think I'm a better political director than my political director.
Barack ObamaI was raised by a single mom who had to put herself through school while looking after two kids. And she worked hard every day and made a lot of sacrifices to make sure we got everything we needed. My grandmother, she started off as a secretary in a bank. She never got a college education, even though she was smart as a whip. And she worked her way up to become a vice president of a local bank, but she hit the glass ceiling. She trained people who would end up becoming her bosses during the course of her career.
Barack ObamaNow, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past - none of these things have been helpful.
Barack Obama