Barack Obama Quotes About Opportunity

• We live in a moment when the dream of equal opportunity is within reach.

  Barack Obama

  Dream, Opportunity, Moments

• They, and we, are the legacies of an unbroken chain of proud men and women who served their country with honor, who waged war so that we might know peace, who braved hardship so that we might know opportunity, who paid the ultimate price so that we might know freedom.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Memorial Day, War

  "CNN Newsroom" with Tony Harris, www.cnn.com. May 25, 2009.

• In the eyes of God, a child on the other side of the border is no less worthy of love and compassion than my own child. We - we can't distinguish between them in terms of their worth and their inherent dignity and that they're deserving of shelter and love and education and opportunity. We can't isolate ourselves. We can't hide behind a wall.

  Barack Obama

  Children, Wall, Eye

  Source: www.rushlimbaugh.com

• Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity, until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Opportunity, Journey

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

• Peace is not just the absence of war. True peace depends upon creating the opportunity that makes life worth living. And to do that, we must confront the common enemies of human beings: nuclear weapons and poverty; ignorance and disease.

  Barack Obama

  War, Ignorance, Opportunity

• In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a prerequisite.

  Barack Obama

  Education, Money, Opportunity

  First Speech to a Joint Session of Congress, delivered 24 February 2009

• Any strategy to reduce intergenerational poverty has to be centered on work, not welfare--not only because work provides independence and income but also because work provides order, structure, dignity, and opportunities for growth in people's lives.

  Barack Obama

  Opportunity, Order, People

  Barack Obama (2006). “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream”, p.178, Crown

• Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

  Barack Obama

  Responsibility, Opportunity, Offers

  Obama's Speech to Students at Cairo University in Cairo, www.cbsnews.com. June 4, 2009.

• Because of the Civil Rights movement, new doors of opportunity and education swung open for everybody ... Not just for blacks and whites, but also women and Latinos; and Asians and Native Americans; and gay Americans and Americans with a disability. They swung open for you, and they swung open for me. And that's why I'm standing here today-because of those efforts, because of that legacy.

  Barack Obama

  Inspiring, Native American, Gay

• Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity. Americans know this. We know that government can't solve all our problems - and we don't want it to. But we also know that there are some things we can't do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.

  Barack Obama

  Country, Responsibility, Opportunity

  Barack Obama (2009). “Barack Obama: Speeches on the Road to the White House”

• The opportunity will not remain open indefinitely.

  Barack Obama

  Opportunity

• If we neglect or abandon those who are suffering in poverty ... not only are we depriving ourselves of potential opportunities for markets and economic growth, but ultimately that despair may turn to violence that turns on us.

  Barack Obama

  Opportunity, Suffering, Growth

• We have proved that the true strength of our nation comes not from the scale of our wealth but from the power of our ideals - opportunity, democracy, liberty and hope.

  Barack Obama

  Strong, Opportunity, Democracy

• At the dawn of the 21st century, where knowledge is literally power, where it unlocks the gates of opportunity and success, we all have responsibilities as parents, as librarians, as educators, as politicians, and as citizens to instill in our children a love of reading so that we can give them a chance to fulfill their dreams.

  Barack Obama

  Dream, Children, Reading

  "We Compared Obama’s Words To Trump’s And The Result Will Make You Sad" by Nick Wing, www.huffingtonpost.com. July 28, 2016.

• My top priority in any trade negotiation is expanding opportunity for hardworking Americans. It's no secret that past trade deals haven't always lived up to their promise, and that's why I will only sign my name to an agreement that helps ordinary Americans get ahead, the bill put forward today would help us write those rules in a way that avoids the mistakes from our past, seizes opportunities for our future and stays true to our values.

  Barack Obama

  Mistake, Writing, Past

  "Lawmakers clear path for Obama's historic trade deal" by Eric Bradner, www.cnn.com. April 30, 2015.

• I've got two daughters and I want to make sure that they have the same opportunities that anybody's sons have. That's part of what I'm fighting for as president of the United States.

  Barack Obama

  Daughter, Fighting, Son

  Source: www.politico.com

• I think back to the day I drove Michelle and a newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago - crawling along, miles under the speed limit, feeling the weight of my daughter's future resting in my hands. I think about the pledge I made to her that day: that I would give her what I never had - that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father. I knew that day that my own life wouldn't count for much unless she had every opportunity in hers.

  Barack Obama

  Daughter, Fathers Day, Dad

  "Obama: 'I have been an imperfect father'" by Barack Obama, www.today.com. May 27, 2010.

• Not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes; tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice.

  Barack Obama

  Opportunity, Justice, Pro Life

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

• On my recent trip to Israel, I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial, and reaffirm our collective responsibility to confront anti-Semitism, prejudice, and intolerance across the world. On this Yom Hashoah, we must accept the full responsibility of remembrance, as nations and as individuals-not simply to pledge "never again," but to commit ourselves to the understanding, empathy and compassion that is the foundation of peace and human dignity.

  Barack Obama

  Responsibility, Opportunity, Compassion

  Statement from the President on Yom Hashoah, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. April 08, 2013.

• The American people and the Israeli peoples share a faith in the future and believe that democracies can shape their own destinies and that opportunities should be available to all. Throughout its own extraordinary history, Israel has given life to that promise.

  Barack Obama

  Believe, Opportunity, Destiny

• The irony is that we've seen this model work really well in Massachusetts because Gov. Romney did a good thing, working with Democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model and, as a consequence, people are covered there. It hasn't destroyed jobs. And as a consequence, we now have a system in which we have the opportunity to start bringing down costs as opposed to just leaving millions of people out in the cold." "Gov. Romney said this has to be done on a bipartisan basis

  Barack Obama

  Jobs, Opportunity, People

  "The First presidential debate between President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, in Denver". www.npr.org. October 3, 2012.

• People don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better.

  Barack Obama

  Life, Children, Opportunity

  2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address, delivered 27 July 2004, Fleet Center, Boston

• Today, we are closer to fulfilling America's promise of economic and social justice because we stand on the shoulders of giants like Dr. King, yet our future progress will depend on how we prepare our next generation of leaders. We must fortify their ladders of opportunity by correcting social injustice, breaking the cycle of poverty in struggling communities, and reinvesting in our schools. Education can unlock a child's potential and remains our strongest weapon against injustice and inequality.

  Barack Obama

  Kings, Children, Struggle

• You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life.

  Barack Obama

  Education, Opportunity, Class

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

• And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

  Barack Obama

  Opportunity, America, Giving

  Barack Obama's Victory Speech at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, abcnews.go.com. November 4, 2008.

You May Also Like:

Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

Michelle Obama

Ann Dunham

William J. Clinton

George W. Bush

Maya Soetoro-Ng