“Look, by dint of biography, by dint of experience, the basic optimism that I articulate and present publicly as President is real. It’s what I teach my daughters. It is how I interact with my friends and with strangers. I genuinely do not assume the worst, because I’ve seen the best so often. So it…”— Barack Obama, newyorker.com
“For us to have had this opportunity and to be able to make this much change, as much as we wish that we could have gotten everything done, it’s remarkable.”— Barack Obama, newyorker.com
“But Donald Trump is entering an office that is weaker than many realize. For all the same reasons Barack Obama could not bring about the change he had made people believe in, Trump cannot wrench America to his vision of greatness. He is constrained by the House and the Senate, by the Supreme Court,…”— Ezra Klein, vox.com
“My own American journey was paved by generations of citizens who gave meaning to those simple words -- "to form a more perfect union." I've studied the Constitution as a student, I've taught it as a teacher, I've been bound by it as a lawyer and a legislator. I took an oath to preserve, protect, and…”— Barack Obama, whitehouse.gov
“This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny. This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across th…”— Barack Obama, whitehouse.gov
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.”— Barack Obama, whitehouse.gov
“Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”— Douglas Adams, amazon.com
“The most damaging myth in American politics is that the presidency can fix our problems. It's a myth backed by a media machine that finds it convenient to frame American politics as a grand drama in which the president is the lead actor. It's a myth fed by every episode of the West Wing in which Pre…”— Ezra Klein, vox.com