Michelle and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Representative Alan Nunnelee, a proud son of Tupelo, Alan never wavered in his determination to serve the men and women who placed their trust in him, even as he bravely battled the illness that ultimately took his life. As a Sunday School teacher and a deacon at his church, Alan believed deeply in the power of faith and the strength of American families.

Barack Obama

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Don’t ever let anybody tell you that your efforts don’t matter or that your voice doesn’t count. Don’t ever believe that you can’t make a difference. You have.

Barack Obama

differences voice believe

No one built this country on their own. This nation is great because we built it together.

Barack Obama

built together country

What makes you a man is not the ability to make a child, it's the courage to raise one.

Barack Obama

ability men children

Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.

Barack Obama

shoes eye character

All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort -- a sustained effort -- to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

Barack Obama

effort focus children

In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

Barack Obama

war mean country

The public school system is not about educating black children. Never has been. Inner-city schools are about social control. Period. They’re operated as holding pens—miniature jails, really. It’s only when black children start breaking out of their pens and bothering white people that society even pays any attention to the issue of whether these children are being educated.

Barack Obama

cities children school

Mothers are the rocks of our families and a foundation in our communities. In gratitude for their generous love, patient counsel, and lifelong support, let us pay respect to the women who carry out the hard work of motherhood with skill and grace, and let us remember those mothers who, though no longer with us, inspire us still.

Barack Obama

gratitude hard-work mother

Love and hope can conquer hate.

Barack Obama

hope-and-love conquer hate

No religion is responsible for terrorism. People are responsible for violence and terrorism.

Barack Obama

radical-islam violence people

The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer.

Barack Obama

islam mind-blowing prayer

The best judge of whether or not a country is going to develop is how it treats its women

Barack Obama

treats judging country

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.

Barack Obama

powerful determination helping-others

The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it. . .

Barack Obama

perseverance real patience

Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.

Barack Obama

doctors voice condolences

Don't just buy a new video game, make one.

Barack Obama

phones games play

Our destiny is not written for us, but by us.

Barack Obama

destiny politics powerful

Who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense

Barack Obama

offense who-you-are should

It's not just enough to change the players. We've gotta change the game.

Barack Obama

vision player games

Find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs.

Barack Obama

success needs thinking