Skip to content

Government Quotes by Barack Obama

117 Government quotes by Barack Obama

All Government quotes Barack Obama’s page

Obama talks about the need to keep promises while staying within limits. The quotes note that Snowden raised real worries, that a post‑9/11 program should not spy on ordinary people, and that technology can help meet big challenges. They also describe a new partnership in Iraq and stress constitutional limits on government power.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Our government shouldn't make promises we cannot keep, but we must keep the promises we've already made.

Image

One of the things I think I can bring to the presidency is to make government and public service cool again.

Image

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether government works.

Image

When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening, foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is…

Image

Government without a tough and vibrant media is not an option for the United States of America.

Image

It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few.

Image

What we should be asking is not whether we need a big government or small government, but how we can create a…

Image

Obama said if elected his government would "harness technology to confront the biggest challenges that America faces".

Image

Keeping the people's government open is not a concession to me. Keeping vital service running and hundreds of thousands of Americans on…

Image

This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in…

Image

None of this is fair to you. And should it continue, it will make it more difficult to keep attracting the kind…

Image

If you hear what people had to say about Abraham Lincoln or what they had to say about FDR, or what they…

Image

Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living…

Image

As I've said many times, the nuclear deal was never intended to resolve all of our differences with Iran. But still, engaging…

Image

I've said many times around the world that like any government, like any country, like, any set of human institutions, we have…

Image

I think I will still feel that same appreciation for what [Winston] Churchill and others have said is the worst form of…

Image

In Africa, you often see that the difference between a village where everybody eats and a village where people starve is government.…

Image

Here in Europe some of the challenges have to do with structures that are so complicated. You've got Brussels, and you've got…

Image

We can't discount how scary and shaken not just the Turkish government is, but Turkish society is. Imagine if you had some…

Image

Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity…

Image

The federal government and our democracy is not a speedboat. It's an oceanliner, as I discovered when I came into office. It…

Image

I do want to once again speak directly to the Iranian people. Yours is a great civilization with a vibrant culture that…

Image

We have to find ways in which, collectively, we agree there's some things that government needs to do to help protect us,…

Image

I think that the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to…

Image

“And that brings me to one last point. I've got a simple message for all the dedicated and patriotic federal workers who…

Image

My view is that discrimination against anyone at the ballot box is wrong and should have the full enforcement of the federal…

Image

Its not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in...growth.

Image

[J]ust because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can't constrain the exercise of that…

Image

We don't think government can solve all our problems. But we don't think government is the source of all our problems.

Image

We shouldn't assume that government is always trying to do the wrong thing.

Image

Our environment is too important to neglect and it's time for the federal government to focus on real solutions and live up…

Image

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works”

Image

My administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.

Image

Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us…

Image

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.

Image

I don't want to jump the gun, [but] I will tell you, though, that my goal is to have the best possible…

Image

The government can't solve every problem, but an enlightened government can make sure that people can work hard for their dreams and…

Image

What Reagan ushered in was a skepticism toward government solutions to every problem. I don't think that has changed

Image

I think the irony ... is that I actually would like to see a relatively light touch when it comes to the government.

Image

I'll be honest, there have been times when I've listened to the rhetoric in Europe where an easy equivalent somehow between the…

Image

Other authors on Government

More by Barack Obama

So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…

The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.

As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…

Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.

What we've said to the girls is: 'If you guys ever decide that you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will…

Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.

All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…

The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.

That is another theme in the book [Dreams from My Father]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we…

I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…

I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…

We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.

It's good to get fresh legs in [the White house]. I think that it refreshes our democracy.

Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…