Barack Obama

“ Some sobering moments -- having to sign letters for troops who have died and sending letters to their families -- where you realize every decision you make counts. And you don’t have time to -- you don’t have time to spend a lot of time on inconsequential stuff. You’ve got to focus on, at this point, putting people back to work, but also reminding yourselves that you’ve got hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are putting themselves in harm’s way and you’re the Commander-in-Chief. ”

“ But there is no doubt that we have to make sure that we don’t let up, because there are people who would be willing to do us harm.
Q Let’s talk about some of those men and women who are serving this country overseas in Afghanistan, other locations, in Iraq -- and I’m sure they’re watching today, it’s a big event for the armed services. And a lot of those people have a vested interest in one of your campaign promises to end this war and get them home as soon -- within 16 months or so -- as humanly possible. ”

“ Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the decision to close Guantanamo by a year from now "places hope ahead of reality. It sets an objective without a plan to get there."
THE PRESIDENT: Let me say this. We had a long campaign between myself and John McCain. One thing we did not disagree on –- in fact, something that John McCain was as adamant as I was, was that we needed to close Guantanamo. It’s the right thing to do. Ultimately it will make us safer. ”

“ What we can do is make sure that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for al Qaeda. What we can do is make sure that it is not destabilizing neighboring Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons. And that’s going to require not only military efforts, but also diplomatic efforts. ”

“ If a bank or a financial institution is getting relief, then they’ve got to abide by certain commissions. Now, as I said when I blew off a little steam in the Oval Office, the American people don’t resent folks for getting rich. That’s part of the American way. But they do expect that you share in the pain and they do expect that if taxpayers are having to pony up the bill, then these folks are going to show some restraint. ”

“ We’ve got real threats and we have to remain vigilant, but the quality of our armed forces has never been better. When you meet the people who are charged with keeping America safe, it gives you enormous confidence ”

“ Q The economy, I mean, people are going to watch this game today, they’re going to blow off some steam, they’re going to have a good time. But a lot of them are going to go to bed, they’re going to wake up tomorrow morning and the worry is going to start again -- they’re going to worry about losing their jobs and their homes and putting their kids through school and making ends meet. ”

“ There will be some institutions that continue to be weak and we’re going to have to do something with them. Over time, as the market confidence is restored, then what we can do is start getting rid of some of these assets, some of the stock the taxpayers now have in some of these companies start being worth more, we sell them off to private parties, and taxpayers can recoup that money. ”

“ They just seem to take whatever comes with, you know, happiness and steadiness. And they’re loving school, they’re making friends -- in fact, they’ve got some friends from school over today -- and they’ve already joined some clubs. And Sasha, you know, I think maybe to endear myself to her, she decided she wanted to join a basketball team, so what more could I want? ”

“ We’ve got to start putting people back to work. We’re going to have to straighten out the credit markets and make sure that credit is flowing to businesses and individuals so that they can start investing and hiring people again. ”

“ Well, if we are doing things properly then what you’ll start seeing is slowly trust get rebuilt, banks’ balance sheets will start to strengthen, they’ll start lending to each other, they’ll start lending to companies, they’ll start lending to small businesses. ”

“ Q Well, we’ve seen some crazy examples -- I mean, when the auto executives arrived in Washington for those hearings in Congress in those private jets, these bonuses. The American people might worry that the bailout, you know, could be off course, because if the money is going to people who simply are out of touch, it’s not a confidence builder. ”

“ But if there are a pair of kids who can handle this weird fishbowl, it’s those two. They’re just even-keeled, they’re happy, cheerful -- the prettiest, respectful kids.
Q You’re starting off from the right place. ”