Barack Obama

I think we missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious, balanced way that would have avoided these huge gyrations in the financial markets.

I think there is no doubt that the deal that I put forward to Speaker Boehner, which a lot of people in my party attacked me for, because they thought that we were going too far, we were being too generous in terms of trying to compromise…

We missed an opportunity a month ago when we could have dealt with our debt and deficit in a serious, balanced way that would have avoided these huge gyrations in the financial markets.

I know that our best days are ahead of us.

This issue of energy innovation I think is absolutely vital for rural communities, but for the entire country.

But supporting biofuels cannot be the role of government alone.

I think Vilsack is doing a great job.

I'm very interested in figuring out how the Federal Government can be even more helpful than it already is in moving this agenda forward.

We genuinely believe that small business is the backbone of America.

It can help free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil.

It's always a mistake to bet against America.

You're what gives me strength.

There's nothing wrong with our country, although there is some problems with our politics.

Biofuels are an important part of reducing America's dependence on foreign oil and creating jobs here at home.

Our task as a nation has to be to get behind what you're doing.

By building a national biofuels industry, we are creating construction jobs, refinery jobs and economic opportunity in rural communities throughout the country.

If we can harness homegrown fuels--whether it's biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal, you name it--then I think it can generate hundreds of thousands of jobs all across the country.

I am enlisting you in this fight. Because if you are - if you're making your voices heard, if you're letting people know that enough is enough, it is time to move forward.

There is no shortage of ideas to put people to work right now. What is needed is action on the part of Congress, a willingness to put the partisan games aside and say, 'We're going to do what's right for the country, not what we think is…

I am enlisting you in this fight, because if you're making your voices heard, if you're letting people know that enough is enough, it is time to move forward.

We just went through this debacle with the debt ceiling, an entirely self-inflicted wound. It wasn't something that was necessary. We had put forward a plan that would have stabilized our debt and our deficits for years to come, but…

I don't know about the other folks, but I'll make a commitment as long as I'm President of the United States: Social Security will not only be there for you, but it's also going to be there for the next generation and the generation after…

Well, if you can do the right thing, then folks in Washington have to do the right thing.

You're managing your budgets. You're putting something away for your kids' college education, maybe for your retirement.

If you can do the right thing, then folks in Washington have to do the right thing.