Барак Обама цитаты

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„В отличие от тебя, Владимир, я не могу редактировать статью перед ее выходом.“

„Мы облажались.“

„Ни одна страна не должна отказывать людям в праве на свободу слова или свободу вероисповедания. Также ни одна страна не должна лишать людей их прав из-за тех, кого они любят.“

„Для преодоления кризиса нет быстрых и простых решений.“

„То, что мой отец черный, как смоль, а мать белая, как молоко, практически никак не отложилось в моем сознании.“

„У меня очень хорошо получается убивать людей.“

„Братья должны подтянуть штаны. Вы идёте рядом с вашей матерью, вашей бабушкой, ваше нижнее белье видно. Вот мое к этому отношение: я думаю, что принимать закон о запрете приспущенных штанов — это пустая трата времени… Но это не значит, что люди не могут проявить определённый здравый смысл и некоторое уважение к другим людям. Вы знаете, некоторые, возможно, не хотят смотреть на ваше нижнее белье, и я являюсь одним из них.“

„Мне бы не хотелось Вас обманывать. Я человек, который живет обычной жизнью, и так случается, что я человек, который совершает ошибки. И вопрос в том, что ты признаешь свои ошибки и учишься на своих ошибках. Поэтому я могу сказать, что я благодарен своим ошибкам за возможность учиться.“

„Надежда — основа нашей нации, вера в то, что судьба не написана нам, а пишется нами — всеми теми людьми, которые не довольствуются тем миром, который им дан, а осмеливаются сделать мир таким, каким он должен быть.“

„Исключительной нации нужен исключительный лидер, лидер в лице исключительного президента. И для меня такой человек – президент Барак Обама!“

„Америка друг каждой нации и каждого мужчины, каждой женщины и каждого ребенка, который стремится к мирному и достойному будущему, и мы готовы вести мир вперед опять.“

„Огромная честь быть ответственным за самую важную организацию в мире — за правительство США, за нашу армию и за все хорошее, что мы делаем в мире.“

„Те, кто хочет уничтожить планету, пусть знают, что мы их разгромим. Те, кто стремится к миру и безопасности, пусть знают, что мы их поддержим. Всем тем, кто сомневается в том, что путеводная звезда Америки горит по-прежнему ярко, сегодня вечером мы еще раз доказали, что подлинная сила нашей страны не в мощи нашего оружия, не в размерах нашего богатства, но в непоколебимой силе наших идеалов — демократии, свободы, широты возможностей и неугасаемой надежды.“

„Иран, Куба, Венесуэла — все это крошечные страны по сравнению с Советским Союзом. Они не представляют для нас такой угрозы, какую представлял Советский Союз. И тем не менее мы готовы были вести переговоры с Советским Союзом даже тогда, когда нам говорили: «Да мы вас с лица земли сотрем».“

„Я верю, что все гомосексуальные пары заслуживают тех же самых законных прав, как и любая другая пара в этой стране!“

„По моему опыту, эволюция более обоснованна, чем ангелы.“

„Деньги — это возможность распугать конкурентов и побороть свой собственный страх. Деньги не гарантируют победы, но без них ты почти гарантированно проиграешь.“

„Я — в президенты? Глупости какие. Вы лучше поговорите с моей женой. Мне она постоянно твердит, что я даже с грязными носками не могу управиться.“

„В прошлом году, когда мы и наши союзники тяжело трудились над тем, чтобы наложить санкции, некоторые предполагали, что агрессия господина Путина была примером мастерской стратегии и силы. Ну а сегодня Америка сильна и едина с нашими союзниками, в то время как Россия изолирована, а ее экономика — в клочьях.“

„Лучший способ скрыть свое невежество — помолчать. Однако это не свойственно некоторым публичным людям. Результат один — они становятся предметом всеобщей насмешки.“

„Самое главное в политике – не стать циником.“

„У меня больше не будет предвыборных кампаний. Я знаю это, потому что выиграл обе.“

„корр.: Что ваш брат знает про Россию?
— В доме родителей была русская кассета с каким-то идиотским фильмом, который он смотрел бесконечно. Потом на все вопросы Барак отвечал: «Ку!»“

„Три месяца — целая жизнь в политике.“

„Экономика не работает хорошо, когда немногие процветают за счет растущего среднего класса.“

„Перед выборами я стал действительно черным, как туча.“

„У нас есть консерваторы в голубых штатах и гей друзья в красных штатах. Есть патриоты, которые против войны в Ираке, а есть те, кто ее поддерживает…“

„Мы владеем интернетом. Наши компании его создали, развили и достигли такого уровня совершенства, что они не могут конкурировать с нами.“

„Нам не удастся легко и быстро выкопать самих себя из ямы, в которой мы находимся. Но Америка — сильная и выносливая страна, и я знаю, что мы добьемся успеха, если сможем оставить в стороне партийные пристрастия и политические разногласия и начать работать вместе как единая нация.“

„Не продавайте себя задешево. Вы же сказочники нашего времени.“

„Я слишком публичен, по сравнению со мной Пэрис Хилтон — просто монашка-отшельница.“

„Мы по-прежнему больше, чем набор «красных» и «синих» штатов. Мы есть и всегда будем Соединенными Штатами Америки.“

„Недавно Маккейн назвал меня социалистом за то, что я хочу отменить сокращения налогов, введенные Бушем для богатейших американцев. К концу недели он будет обвинять меня в том, что я являюсь тайным коммунистом, потому что в детском саду я делился игрушками, делился своим бутербродом с ореховым маслом и вареньем.“

„Осторожнее с тем, что вы постите на Facebook. Что бы это ни было, это еще всплывет когда-нибудь в вашей жизни.“

„Политика стала такой ожесточенной и пристрастной, настолько пропитанной деньгами и влиянием, что мы не можем заняться серьезными проблемами, требующими решения. И это первое, что требуется изменить.“

„Если Вы идете верным путем и будете продолжать по нему идти, то в конечном счете добьетесь успеха.“

„Будучи против тех, кто представляет рынок единственным решением любых экономических проблем, мы начинаем мешать применению рыночных принципов и там, где это необходимо. Сопротивляясь усилению церкви, мы приравняли терпимость к почти полному исключению религии из жизни общества.“

„На восстановление экономики уйдут годы, а не месяцы.“

„…мы говорим вам сейчас, что наш дух сильнее и не может быть сломан, вы не в состоянии нас изжить, и мы вас победим“

„ИГИЛ является прямым наследником «Аль-Каиды» в Ираке, который вырос из нашего вторжения в эту страну.“

„Я уже раньше говорил, что считаю своей самой большой внешнеполитической ошибкой интервенцию в Ливии в составе международной коалиции. Страны НАТО поддержали повстанцев, которые вели борьбу с режимом Муаммара Каддафи, но не смогли вовремя обеспечить стабильность и оказать помощь в формировании нового правительства страны.“

„Соединенные Штаты никогда не будут в состоянии войны с исламом.“

„Аннексия Крыма обернётся для России не выгодой, а большими потерями. <…> Путин принял это решение по поводу Крыма и Украины не в силу какого-то грандиозного стратегического плана, а потому что был внезапно захвачен протестами на Майдане и бегством Януковича.“

„И вообще, меня Обама поражает. Ещё совсем недавно чернокожие люди в Америке рабами были, а сегодня уже об исключительности какой-то заявляют.“

“Terrorists who try to sow chaos, they must be met with force and they must also be met, though, with a forceful commitment to uphold the rule of law, and respect for human rights, and to treat everybody who’s peaceful and law-abiding fairly and equally.”

“I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.”

“If you ever wonder whether America is big enough to hold multitudes, strong enough to withstand the forces of change, brave enough to live up to our ideals even in times of trial, then look to the generations of ordinary citizens who have proven again and again that we are worthy of that. That’s our great inheritance -- what ordinary people have done to build this country and make these words live. And it’s our generation’s task to follow their example in this journey -- to keep building an America where no matter who we are or what we look like, or who we love or what we believe, we can make of our lives what we will. You will not and should not forget your history and your past. That adds to the richness of American life. But you are now American. You’ve got obligations as citizens. And I’m absolutely confident you will meet them.”

“No development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work.”

“While our military mission is narrowly focused on saving lives, we continue to pursue the broader goal of a Libya that belongs not to a dictator, but to its people.”

“If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.”

“And because no one who works full-time in America should have to live in poverty, I am going to keep making the case that we need to raise the minimum wage because it's lower right now than it was when Ronald Reagan took office. It's time for the minimum wage to go up.”

“Most of the time I got a ticket, I deserved it. I knew why I was pulled over. But there were times when I didn’t. The data shows that this is not an aberration. It doesn’t mean each case is a problem. It means that when you aggregate all the cases and you look at it, you’ve gotta say that there’s some racial bias in the system.”

“Change is hard –- in our own lives, and in the lives of nations. And change is even harder when we carry the heavy weight of history on our shoulders. But today we are making these changes because it is the right thing to do. Today, America chooses to cut loose the shackles of the past so as to reach for a better future –- for the Cuban people, for the American people, for our entire hemisphere, and for the world.”

“I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet — or unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged. Now, I should tell you, I should be honest, as President of the United States, there are times where I wish information didn't flow so freely because then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticizing me all the time. I think people naturally are — when they're in positions of power sometimes thinks, oh, how could that person say that about me, or that's irresponsible, or — but the truth is that because in the United States information is free, and I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me, I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear. It forces me to examine what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis to see, am I really doing the very best that I could be doing for the people of the United States. And I think the Internet has become an even more powerful tool for that kind of citizen participation.”

“No, the reward comes in knowing that our entire way of life in America depends on the rule of law; that the maintenance of that law is a hard and daily labor; that in this country, we don’t have soldiers in the streets or militias setting the rules. Instead, we have public servants -- police officers -- like the men who were taken away from us.”

“None of us can or should expect a transformation in race relations overnight. Every time something like this happens, somebody says we have to have a conversation about race. We talk a lot about race. There’s no shortcut. And we don’t need more talk. None of us should believe that a handful of gun safety measures will prevent every tragedy. It will not. People of goodwill will continue to debate the merits of various policies, as our democracy requires -- this is a big, raucous place, America is. And there are good people on both sides of these debates. Whatever solutions we find will necessarily be incomplete. But it would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again. Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual -- that’s what we so often do to avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society. To settle for symbolic gestures without following up with the hard work of more lasting change -- that’s how we lose our way again. It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism.”

“Stronger families. Stronger communities. A stronger America. It is this kind of prosperity — broad, shared, built on a thriving middle class — that has always been the source of our progress at home. It’s also the foundation of our power and influence throughout the world.”

“First and foremost, let us remember that change has never been quick. Change has never been simple, or without controversy. Change depends on persistence. Change requires determination.”

“If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make sure it's worthy of those we have lost.”

“The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity — she doesn't. But she is a typical white person who, you know, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know, there's a reaction that's been bred into our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way. And that's just the nature of race in our society. We have to break through it. And what makes me optimistic is you see each generation feeling a little bit less like that, and that's pretty powerful stuff.”

“That’s what we must pray for, each of us: a new heart. Not a heart of stone, but a heart open to the fears and hopes and challenges of our fellow citizens. […] Because with an open heart, we can learn to stand in each other’s shoes and look at the world through each other’s eyes, so that maybe the police officer sees his own son in that teenager with a hoodie who's kind of goofing off but not dangerous and the teenager -- maybe the teenager will see in the police officer the same words and values and authority of his parents. With an open heart, we can abandon the overheated rhetoric and the oversimplification that reduces whole categories of our fellow Americans not just to opponents, but to enemies. With an open heart, those protesting for change will guard against reckless language going forward, look at the model set by the five officers we mourn today, acknowledge the progress brought about by the sincere efforts of police departments like this one in Dallas, and embark on the hard but necessary work of negotiation, the pursuit of reconciliation. With an open heart, police departments will acknowledge that, just like the rest of us, they are not perfect; that insisting we do better to root out racial bias is not an attack on cops, but an effort to live up to our highest ideals. […] With an open heart, we can worry less about which side has been wronged, and worry more about joining sides to do right. […] We can decide to come together and make our country reflect the good inside us, the hopes and simple dreams we share.”

“So, first of all, you’ve got to try to get people involved. And a lot of people are busy in their own lives or they don’t think it’s going to make a difference or they’re scared if they’re speaking out against authority. And many of the problems that we’re facing, like trying to create jobs or better opportunity or dealing with poverty or dealing with the environment, these are problems that have been going on for decades. And so, to think that somehow you’re going to change it in a day or a week, and then if it doesn’t happen you just give up, well, then you definitely won’t succeed. So the most important thing that I learned as a young person trying to bring about change is you have to be persistent, and you have to get more people involved, and you have to form relationships with different groups and different organizations. And you have to listen to people about what they’re feeling and what they’re concerned about, and build trust. And then, you have to try to find a small part of the problem and get success on that first, so that maybe from there you can start something else and make it bigger and make it bigger, until over time you are really making a difference in your community and in that problem. But you can’t be impatient. And the great thing about young people is they’re impatient. The biggest problem with young people is they’re impatient. It’s a strength, because it’s what makes you want to change things. But sometimes, you can be disappointed if change doesn’t happen right away and then you just give up. And you just have to stay with it and learn from your failures, as well as your successes.”

“Once again, we've seen an outrageous attempt to terrorize innocent civilians. This is an attack not just on Paris, it's an attack not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share.”

“What makes me cautiously optimistic about my successor and the shift from campaign mode to governance is there’s something about the solemn responsibilities of that office, the extraordinary demands that are placed on the United States -- not just by its own people but by people around the world -- that forces you to focus, that demands seriousness. And if you’re not serious about the job, then you probably won’t be there very long because it will expose problems. Even when you’re doing a job, even when you are attentive, there are so many things that come across your desk that people are going to question you, and you’re going to have opponents and you’re going to have critics, and you figure that out pretty fast when you’re sitting there.  And I think the President-elect is going to see fairly quickly that the demands and responsibilities of a U. S. President are not ones that you can treat casually, and that in a big, complex, diverse country, the only way that you can be successful is by listening and reaching out and working with a wide variety of people.”

“Dignity will win -- because every human being is born equal, with free will and inalienable rights. And any regime or system of government that tries to deny these rights will ultimately fail and countries that uphold them will only grow stronger.”

“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. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

“And while we recognize that our influence will at times be limited, although we will be wary of efforts to impose democracy through military force, and although we will at times be accused of hypocrisy and inconsistency, we will be engaged in the region for the long haul. For the hard work of forging freedom and democracy is the task of a generation.”

“Justice will win -- because might does not make right, and the only path to lasting peace is when people know that their dignity will be respected and that their rights will be upheld. And citizens, like nations, will never settle for a world where the big are allowed to bully the small. Sooner or later, they fight back.”

“We've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. We are distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants, and as people have looked away in frustration and disillusionment, we know who has filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests, who've turned government into only a game they can afford to play. They write the checks while you get stuck with the bill. They get access while you get to write a letter.”

“Democrats and Republicans are far apart on a lot of issues. And I recognize there are folks on the other side who think that my policies are misguided. That's putting it mildly. That's OK. That's democracy. That's how it works. We can debate those differences vigorously, passionately, in good faith, through the normal democratic process. And sometimes we'll be just too far apart to forge an agreement. But that should not hold back our efforts in areas where we do agree. We shouldn't fail to act on areas that we do agree or could agree just because we don't think it's good politics, just because the extremes in our party don't like the word "compromise." I will look for willing partners wherever I can to get important work done. And there's no good reason why we can't govern responsibly, despite our differences, without lurching from manufactured crisis to manufactured crisis.”

““In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.” That’s what President Lincoln once wrote. “Honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” Mr. Speaker, leaders and members of both parties, distinguished guests: We gather here to commemorate a century and a half of freedom -- not simply for former slaves, but for all of us. Today, the issue of chattel slavery seems so simple, so obvious -- it is wrong in every sense. Stealing men, women, and children from their homelands. Tearing husband from wife, parent from child; stripped and sold to the highest bidder; shackled in chains and bloodied with the whip. It’s antithetical not only to our conception of human rights and dignity, but to our conception of ourselves -- a people founded on the premise that all are created equal.”

“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. […] Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.”

“When we think of the major threats to our national security, the first to come to mind are nuclear proliferation, rogue states and global terrorism. But another kind of threat lurks beyond our shores, one from nature, not humans — an avian flu pandemic.”