Those of us in positions of responsibility, we'll need to be less concerned with the judgment of special interests and well-connected donors, and more concerned with the judgment of posterity. Barack Obama More Quotes by Barack Obama More Quotes From Barack Obama In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. Barack Obama greatness journey men perhaps I possess a certain Midwestern sensibility that I inherited from my mother and her parents, a sensibility that Warren Buffet seems to share: that at a certain point one has enough, that you can derive as much pleasure from a Picasso hanging in a museum as from one that's hanging in your den, that you can get an awfully good meal in a restaurant for less than twenty dollars, and that once your drapes cost more than the average American's yearly salary, then you can afford to pay a bit more in taxes. Barack Obama mother average museums For half of the world's population, roughly three billion people around the world living on less than two dollars a day, an election is at best a means, not an end; a starting point, not deliverance. These people are looking less for an "electocracy" than for the basic elements that for most of us define a decent life--food, shelter, electricity, basic health care, education for their children, and the ability to make their way through life without having to endure corruption, violence, or arbitrary power. Barack Obama two mean children I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse. Barack Obama sarcastic wisdom funny But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home that's no excuse ... Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. Barack Obama destiny home writing Scientists and engineers ought to stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models. Barack Obama role-models roles athlete Let me tell your something. I'm from Chicago. I don't break. Barack Obama let-me chicago break Someone once said that every man is trying to live up to his father's expectations or make up for their father's mistakes. Barack Obama mistake men father make away out of no way Barack Obama way [A]lthough the principle of equality has always been self-evident, it has never been self-executing. Barack Obama executing principles self Get involved in an issue that you're passionate about. It almost doesn't matter what it is ... We give too much of our power away, to the professional politicians, to the lobbyists, to cynicism. And our democracy suffers as a result. Barack Obama issues inspirational giving You Can't Rest on Your Laurels. Your Own Body of Work Is Yet to Come. Barack Obama laurels body inspirational If you run you stand a chance of losing, but if you don't run you've already lost. Barack Obama change happiness inspirational That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted. Barack Obama business fear dream As citizens, we understand that it is not about what America may do for us. It's about what can be done by us, together. Barack Obama together graduation america America must always lead on the world stage. If we don't, no one else will. The military that you have joined is, and always will be, the backbone of that leadership. But U.S. military action cannot be the only - or even primary - component of our leadership in every instance. Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. Barack Obama military graduation mean Those jeans are comfortable, and for those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I'm sorry I'm not the guy. It just doesn't fit me. I'm not 20. Barack Obama hilarious jeans sorry The absence of hope can rot a society from within. Barack Obama powerful hope absence People are very hungry for something new. I think they are interested in being called to be a part of something larger than the sort of small, petty, slash-and-burn politics that we have been seeing over the last several years. Barack Obama people years thinking We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Barack Obama effort religious religion