Barack Obama Quotes About Decisions

• Today’s decision was a victory for people all across this country whose lives will be more secure.

  Barack Obama

  Country, People, Decision

  "Supreme Court Upholds Health Reform Law". www.webmd.com. June 28, 2012.

• When we don't pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that's when democracy breaks down. That's when power is abused. That's when the most extreme voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That's when powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and influence in the corridors of power - because none of us are there to speak up and stop them.

  Barack Obama

  Powerful, Voice, Issues

  "Obama Michigan Graduation Speech". www.huffingtonpost.com. May 20, 2010.

• No other advanced nation endures this kind of violence. None. Here in America, the murder rate is three times what it is in other developed nations. The murder rate with guns is ten times what it is in other developed nations. And there's nothing inevitable about it. It comes about because of decisions we make or fail to make. And it falls upon us to make it different.

  Barack Obama

  Fall, Gun, America

• Whatever decisions I make are going to be based first on a strategy to keep us safe and then we'll figure out how to resource it.

  Barack Obama

  Decision, Safe, Firsts

  Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

• What you saw was the people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues. It was contentious. It was emotional. But ultimately, they made a decision to recognize civil marriage. And I think that's exactly how things should work.

  Barack Obama

  New York, Emotional, Thinking

  "Obama Challenges GOP Lawmakers In Budget Debate". "All Things Considered" with Robert Siegel and Melissa Block, www.npr.org. June 29, 2011.

• Every woman should be in control of the decisions that affect her own health.

  Barack Obama

  Health, Decision, Should

  Barack Obama's speech on Preventive Care, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. February 10, 2012.

• If the critics are right that I've made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them.

  Barack Obama

  Reading, Decision, Made

  Second Democratic Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, delivered 6 September 2012, Charlotte, North Carolina

• There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

  Barack Obama

  Block, America, Government

  President-Elect Victory Speech, delivered 4 November 2008, Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois

• We shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women.

  Barack Obama

  Men, Decision, Majority

  Barack Obama's Remarks to the White House Press Corps, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. August 20, 2012.

• The fear among economists across the political spectrum that was - was that we were rapidly plummeting towards a second Great Depression. So, in the weeks and months that followed, we undertook a series of difficult steps to prevent that outcome. And we were forced to take those steps largely without the help of an opposition party, which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve.

  Barack Obama

  Party, Hands, Decision

  Barack Obama's Speech on Job Creation and Economic Growth, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. December 8, 2009.

• There aren't a lot of situations where I look back and I say, The decision I actually made or the course we actually pursued was the wrong course.

  Barack Obama

  Decision, Looks, Made

  Source: www.vanityfair.com

• I think that there is a particular mindset that was on display in the run-up to the Iraq war that continues to this day. Some of the folks who were involved in that decision either don't remember what they said or are entirely unapologetic about the results, but that views the Middle East as a place where force and intimidation will deliver on the security interests that we have, and that it is not possible for us to at least test the possibility of diplomacy.

  Barack Obama

  Running, War, Thinking

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

• There are times where I'd say the Oval Office, you use to gather the facts. The decisions you probably make late at night, or at least I do. But there are some times where you think you've made a decision, but during that walk, where you're announcing the decision, you've just got to make sure that, you're prepared to live with it, because as you know George, a lot of these decisions are not - the outcomes are uncertain.

  Barack Obama

  Night, Thinking, Office

  Source: abcnews.go.com

• This massacre in Orlando is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school or in a house of worship or a movie theater or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that's the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision, as well.

  Barack Obama

  Country, School, People

  Source: www.truth-out.org

• For 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 Obama

  Mistake, Names, Decision

  Second Presidential Inaugural Address, delivered 21 January 2013, Washington, D.C.

• But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress.

  Barack Obama

  Military, Government, Long

  "Obama at War". "Frontline", www.pbs.org.

• Usually, I'm pretty good about sorting through the options and then making decisions that I'm confident are the best decisions in that moment, given the information we have. But there are times where I think I wish I could have imagined a different level of insight.

  Barack Obama

  Thinking, Decision, Wish

  Source: www.vanityfair.com

• What we've seen at least since 1979 is Iran making constant, calculated decisions that allow it to preserve the regime, to expand their influence where they can, to be opportunistic, to create what they view as hedges against potential Israeli attack in the form of Hezbollah and other proxies in the region.

  Barack Obama

  Views, Iran, Decision

  Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

• You [as a president] have to have a strong team around you. You have to have respect for institutions and the process to make good decisions because you are inherently reliant on other folks.

  Barack Obama

  Strong, Team, Decision

  Source: abcnews.go.com

• In order to make the tough decisions we have to know what our values are and who we're fighting for and our priorities and if we are spending $300 billion on tax cuts for people who don't need them and weren't even asking for them, and we are leaving out health care which is crushing on people all across the country, then I think we have made a bad decision and I want to make sure we're not shortchanging our long term priorities.

  Barack Obama

  Crush, Country, Fighting

  Source: www.nytimes.com

• There wasn't a time where I felt fearful that I couldn't make the best decisions possible.

  Barack Obama

  Decision, Fearful, Felt

  Source: www.vanityfair.com

• How you staff, particularly the chief of staff, the national security adviser, your White House counsel, how you set up a process in the system to surface information and generate options for a president, understanding that ultimately the president is going to be the final decision-maker. That's something that has to be attended to right away.

  Barack Obama

  White, House, Decision

  Source: time.com

• When I talked to [Donald Trump] about - our intelligence agencies, what I've said to him is - is that there are gonna be times where you've got raw intelligence that comes in and in my experience, over eight years, the intelligence community is pretty good about saying, "Look, we can't say for certain what this means." But there are gonna be times where the only way you can make a good decision is if you have confidence that the process is working, and the people that you put in charge are giving you their very best assessments.

  Barack Obama

  Mean, Agency, Eight

  Source: abcnews.go.com

• Donald Trump will be the next president, the 45th president of the United States. And it will be up to him to set up a team that he thinks will serve him well and reflect his policies. It takes a while for people to reconcile themselves with that new reality. Hopefully, it`s a reminder that elections matter. I think it`s important for us to let him make his decisions, and I think the American people will judge over the course of the next couple of years whether they like what they see.

  Barack Obama

  Couple, Team, Thinking

  Source: www.msnbc.com

• The role of government has never been to plan every detail or dictate every outcome. At its best, government has simply knocked away barriers to opportunity and laid the foundation for a better future. Our people -- with all their drive and ingenuity -- always end up building the rest. And if we can do that again -- if we can continue building that foundation and making those hard decisions on behalf of the next generation -- I have no doubt that we will leave our children the America that we all hope for.

  Barack Obama

  Children, Opportunity, Government

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