Barack Obama

We're no longer going down the conservative path. We're going to go down a much more progressive or liberal path.

By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.

Not every decision we're going to make is going to be perfect. Not every plan that we lay out is going to work out exactly as we intended. But if we get the big stuff right, then the ship of state is a big tanker and, you know, you can't…

I don't make these decisions based on polls or popularity. I make these decisions based on what I think is best.

We will not let the pursuit of the perfect stand in the way of achievable goals.

Education Secretary Duncan is set to save tens of millions of dollars more by cutting an ineffective mentoring program for students, a program whose mission is being carried out by 100 other programs in 13 other agencies.

We need for it work.

We need to ensure that the Federal Government is using taxpayer dollars wisely and that we are working to really solve problems, not just delay them.

I question whether we will be more effective than the current programs in preserving homeownership.

I applaud the administration for taking aggressive steps to tackle this crisis.

With a plan of this scale comes an enormous responsibility to get it right.

You were the first person to call it a 'tsunami of foreclosures' that would happen.

As long as I live, I will remember Bob Menendez's comments that day, our first hearing.

Because countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow, we must make excellence the hallmark of an American education, and that's why this budget supports the historic investment in education we made as part of the recovery…

He plans to have all U.S. combat troops out of the country by August 2010 -- not all troops, though.

He's going to fight for the individuals.

No part of my budget will be free from scrutiny or untouched by reform.

For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent.

While we must add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving, it is only by restoring fiscal discipline over the long run that we can produce sustained growth and shared prosperity.

These must be the priorities reflected in our budget, for, in the end, a budget is more than simply numbers on a page. It is a measure of how well we are living up to our obligations to ourselves and one another. It is a test for our…

And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country, and this country needs and values the talents of every American.

The cost of action will be great, but the cost of inaction will be far greater.

I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive.

The flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy.

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.