(b. 1961–)
44th president of the United States
President Barack Obama
While I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.”
DNC’s speech, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 6, 2012.
I’m extremely happy with her, and part of it has to do with the fact that she is at once completely familiar to me, so that I can be myself and she knows me very well and I trust her completely, but at the same time she is also a complete mystery to me in some ways. And there are times when we are lying in bed and I look over and sort of have a start. Because I realize here is this other person who is separate and different and has different memories and backgrounds and thoughts and feelings. It’s that tension between familiarity and mystery that makes for something strong, because, even as you build a life of trust and comfort and mutual support, you retain some sense of surprise or wonder about the other person.
“A Couple in Chicago,” interview by Mariana Cook, The New Yorker, January 19, 2009.
For thousands of years, people have been drawn to poetry in a very personal way—including me. In the spirit of full disclosure, I actually submitted a couple of poems to my college literary magazine, and you will be pleased to know that I will not be reading them tonight.
“Remarks by the President at Evening of Poetry at the White House,” East Room, May 11, 2011.
What a week. As some of you heard, the state of Hawaii released my official long-form birth certificate. Hopefully this puts all doubts to rest. But just in case there are any lingering questions, tonight I’m prepared to go a step further. Tonight, for the first time, I am releasing my official birth video.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, April 30, 2011.
There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.
Remarks on Egypt, delivered in the Grand Foyer of the White House, February 11, 2011.
This shit would be really interesting if we weren’t in the middle of it.
Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (New York: HarperCollins, 2010), 376.