Being attentive to inequality and not tone deaf to it. But offering prescriptions that are actually going to help folks in communities that feel forgotten. That's going to be our most important strategy. And I think we can successfully do that. Barack Obama More Quotes by Barack Obama More Quotes From Barack Obama The memoir was a very personal book. I wrote it as a personal journey and search about who my father was and how my family had come together and come apart - sorting all that out, you know, issues of personal identity. Barack Obama journey father book I didn't have a perfect model, but I wanted to try to blend my own personal reflections and experiences with this broader canvas to see how a lot of the narratives we have about economy and foreign policy got stuck. Because we have these categories of liberal, conservative, free marketer, open government - all these stereotypes about our politics and the categories we try to put things in are inadequate to this sort of complex, ambiguous, sometimes contradictory experience we have as ordinary people and that I have as an elected official. Barack Obama government reflection perfect I think at a certain age I became conscious of the power of words. And it was fairly late. I was kind of a goofball - but I was always subconsciously thinking about issues. Barack Obama issues age thinking Basically, I am a night owl. My wife is an early bird, so she goes to bed around 9:30, and my kids are in bed about 8. So, if I am home, I will usually start writing about 9:30 and go till about 12:30 or 1:30, depending on what my energy level is. Barack Obama home writing kids When I was in Washington, I would usually get home from the Capitol at about 7:30 or 8, and I would try to write as much as possible. It was almost all in the wee hours. Barack Obama home writing trying Guaranteed, full stop, nobody gets treated differently when it comes to the Justice Department, because nobody is above the law. Barack Obama treated law justice This visit [to Singapore] is an occasion to mark the 50th anniversary our bilateral relationship with Singapore, which is one of our strongest and most reliable partners in South-east Asia. Barack Obama 50th-anniversary asia east More broadly, Prime Minister Lee [Hsien Loong] and I will work to advance the US-Singapore partnership across the board. We're committed to sustaining the dynamism of our economies with the Trans-Pacific Partnership - the highest-standard trade agreement ever - which will support trade and innovation in both our countries. Barack Obama support agreement country Singapore was the very first South-east Asian nation to join the global coalition against ISIL (ISIS) coalition, and we'll work to sustain our momentum in destroying that terrorist organisation. Barack Obama isis east asian The American people want to make sure that the rules of the game are fair. And what that means is that if you look at surveys around Americans' attitudes on trade, the majority of the American people still support trade. But they're concerned about whether or not trade is fair, and whether we get the same access to other countries' markets that they have with us. Is there just a race to the bottom when it comes to wages, and so forth. Barack Obama attitude mean country We do need to make sure that we have an orderly, lawful immigration process. Barack Obama immigration process needs If, in [Federal Housing Administration] application, black folks were excluded from it, then you have to override that by going after those discriminatory practices. Barack Obama administration black practice Now, in practice, in daily social interactions, etc., there may be all kinds of biases and prejudices that are unspoken, that people aren't aware of, that affect who's hired, and who gets loans, and how kids are treated in school. But it's a powerful thing if you have on your side an idea that the overwhelming majority of people believe in because that's how you can build a consensus that's lasting. Barack Obama powerful believe school 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 easily in the minds of a lot Americans feel like, "Now I'm being treated unfairly." Barack Obama folks argument mind I want my children - I want Malia and Sasha - to understand that they've got responsibilities beyond just what they themselves have done. That they have a responsibility to the larger community and the larger nation, that they should be sensitive to and extra thoughtful about the plight of people who have been oppressed in the past, are oppressed currently. Barack Obama thoughtful responsibility children If we win all those fights, and now let's say the income gap, and the wealth gap, and the education gap have for the most part been closed - let's say hypothetically, , first of all, America as a whole would be a lot richer. Barack Obama fighting winning america When we were working on immigration reform and there was a young Latino man, young immigration activist here who, in the Roosevelt Room, refused to shake my hand.He made a point of saying, "I can't shake your hand; you're deporting too many people." And I just said to him, "Young man, I'm glad that you feel so passionately about this issue, but you're with the president right now in the White House. You've got to think about what's going to be most effective in getting what you need, what you're trying to accomplish. Because this may not be your best strategy." Barack Obama white men thinking I'm not saying I'm impervious to criticism. Barack Obama impervious criticism It's useful for activists just to be out there to keep you mindful and not get complacent, even if ultimately you think some of their criticism is misguided. Barack Obama misguided criticism thinking The problem was, and we saw some of this in the immigration-reform issues as well, was they hadn't done sufficient homework to know that I didn't have all the capacity they thought I did in order to just execute this through the stroke of a pen. Barack Obama issues immigration order
