Barack Obama

I believe we can and we will.

The NATO alliance has been the cornerstone of transatlantic security for the past 60 years.

I enthusiastically welcome the decision made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to fully reintegrate France into the NATO alliance.

Those are the concerns I heard about in California.

There is no longer a doubt that the jobs and industries of tomorrow will involve harnessing renewable sources of energy.

We know the countries that out-educate us today will outcompete us tomorrow.

I don't see why they would throw the game, except for all those Secret Service guys with guns around them.

If they have confidence that I'm making steps to deal with issues like health care and energy and education, that matter deeply to their daily lives, then I think they're going to give us some time.

So in this season of new beginnings, I would like to speak clearly to Iran's leaders. We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us…

What's happening is a lot of these banks are keeping it in the bank because their balance sheets have gotten so bad that they decided, you know what, for us to stay solvent we need to maintain certain capital ratios, we have got to have a…

Well, look, we are going through a difficult time. I welcome the challenge. I ran for president because I thought we needed big changes.

I do think, though, that the American people are all in a place where they understand it took us a while to get into this mess. It's going to take a while for us to get out of it. And if they have confidence that I'm making steps to deal…

Dealing with AIG and some of these other institutions is like dealing with somebody who's got a suicide bomb strapped to their chest.

We've got to have a certain amount of capital in the bank and they haven't started lending it yet.

I ran for President because I thought we needed big changes.

We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us and to pursue constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international…

I don't need to remind you that the American people are watching what we do. They need this plan to work. They're skeptical and understandably because they have seen taxpayer dollars frittered away before.

I'm confident that with all these bright minds sitting around the table, that we're going to not only continue the progress that's been made in the Recovery Act, but we're going to be able to get a budget passed that reflects our--the…

Decisions about how Recovery Act dollars are spent will be based on the merits.

Executive departments and agencies shall develop transparent, merit-based selection criteria that will guide their available discretion...

Let us remember the words that were written by the poet Saadi so many years ago: 'The children of Adam are limbs to each other, having been created of one essence.'

We must not allow Recovery Act funds to be distributed on the basis of factors other than the merits of proposed projects.

We know that you are a great civilization, and your accomplishments have earned the respect of the United States and the world.

And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.

Those are shared hopes; those are common dreams.