Barack Obama Quotes

Unfortunately, the genuine relationships and friendships that some of us have developed across the aisle in recent years does not translate into a willingness to seek compromise, consensus, or middle ground on the major challenges facing our state. The extreme ideology of the self-styled Tea Party legislators in Arizona absolutely rules the day.

My view is instead of political discussions, persuasions, which dominate democracy, in our country we have taken our democracy to the other extreme. There is no debate, sufficient debate. There is court debate.

Elections should highlight principled disagreements, but they must not obscure our capacity to cooperate for the common good.

I don't believe in populism.

I would love it if everybody in America agreed with me on every issue. I can't get my wife to agree with me on every issue, let alone the American people. It's called democracy. That's what it's about.

Unfortunately, in the world today, we have dogmatic people entering into politics. I don't think the two mix.

I am honored to have this role [of the moderator], but this evening belongs to the candidates and, just as important, to the American people.

There is no more important task in a democracy than resolving the differences among people and finding a course of action that will be supported by a sufficient number to permit the nation to achieve a better life for all.

Politics is good; when it works properly, disagreements get solved without people beating each other up. But when a regime knows its days are numbered, there's always the chance it may use its position to change the rules and make the debate it is losing irrelevant.

Excessive partisanship is the problem. There has never been a democracy in the history of the world in a polity of any size where you didn't have political parties. Even sometimes over the objections of the people who started it.

The Democrats, the left have become a giant hate group. There is no reason in these people. This is pure, 100 percent corrupt, evil politics, or worse, that governs their thinking, their day-to-day thinking. If they're having an outdoor barbecue - wait. They wouldn't. That's climate change causing. Whatever these people do.

I hope - I'm a democrat. I'm a democratically elected politician from the Netherlands representing one of the major parties in Holland - I hope that I will be able to talk and to discuss with people.

Oftentimes people get it wrong when they say we need to educate voters first and then give them power. I tend to favor giving them power first.

The American people have now spoken, but it's going to take a little while to determine what they've said.

There are no moderate Republicans left, with the exception of a few who would vote with us when it doesn’t make any difference,” Frank said. “It’s the most rigid ideological party since before the Civil War. … The bumper sticker I’m going to have printed up for Democrats this year is, ‘We’re not perfect, but they’re nuts.’

Standing in a two-hour line makes people worry that they're not living in a democratic nation. People stand in line for two houres and they go over the edge.

The effect of a representative democracy is to refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of the nation.

I'm afraid, is that there are a number of groups who really don't want a fair-minded judge who has an openness to both sides of the argument. Rather, they want judges who will impose their liberal agenda on the American people; views so liberal that they cannot prevail at the ballot box.

[Bush Hating] undermines the good faith necessary for democratic discussion. Which is a large part of what people like Al Franken are all about.

Should things go wrong at any time, the people will set them to rights by the peaceable exercise of their elective rights.

I think referendums are fantastic as long as the question is phrased in a way which is not meant to deliberately confuse or confound people.

When a judge goes beyond [his proper function] and reads entirely new values into the Constitution, values the framers and ratifiers did not put there, he deprives the people of their liberty. That liberty, which the Constitution clearly envisions, is the liberty of the people to set their own social agenda through the process of democracy.

Michelle Malkin is the most vile, hateful commentator I've ever met in my life. She actually believes that neighbors should start snitching out neighbors, and we should be deporting people. It's good she's in D.C. and I'm in New York. I'd spit on her if I saw her.

We live in America, one of the good things what we have with all the people is we have dialogue.

I'm ready to be insulted as being insufficiently democratic, but I want to be serious ... I am for secret, dark debates.