One of the things I've learned about being president is that we'll work on issues for long periods of time, sometimes in obscurity.
Barack ObamaI do believe, separate and apart from any particular election or movement, that we are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an us and a them.
Barack ObamaFor now, decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.
Barack ObamaSometimes people just feel as if we want to try something to see if we can shake things up.
Barack ObamaThis is what I would call old politics. This is the stuff we're trying to get rid of. Because the problem is, when we start breaking down into conservative and liberal, and we've got a bunch of set predispositions, whether it's on gun control, or its' on health care, any attempt to do health care is socialized medicine.
Barack Obama