When Barack Obama was on the campaign trail, he promised Americans hope, change, and unity. Whatever else may be said about the man, you at least have to give him credit for delivering on all counts.
After all, as the year has progressed, more and more Americans have united against his agenda. As for the change, well, just look at the unemployment rate, the economy, and the national debt. We've seen quite a bit of change in those areas under Obama's watch.
Then of course, there's the prevalence of the word "hope" when people talk about our President. "Gosh, I really hope he knows what he's doing. I hope Obama's weakness doesn't encourage the terrorists. I hope we can undo all the damage Obama is doing to the country right now. I hope our children will forgive us one day for electing this guy."
So, since we're in the midst of such a historic presidency, it behooves us to actually catalogue some of the more notable utterances of our esteemed President in 2009. Enjoy!
10) No, no. I have been practicing...I bowled a 129. It's like -- it was like Special Olympics, or something. -- Barack Obama
9) I mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems. -- Barack Obama makes the case for socialized medicine in a rather odd fashion
8) Before a crowd of troops holding cameras and cell phones, the president joked, "you guys make a pretty good photo op." -- Political Punch
7) I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. -- Barack Obama distorts America's history in Egypt
6) I won. -- Barack Obama to Republicans in Congress who were trying to discuss the stimulus plan with him
5) NBC: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — can you understand why it is offensive to some for this terrorist to get all the legal privileges of any American citizen?Obama: I don't think it will be offensive at all when when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.
4) Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. And now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility -- what's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world.But taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011. -- Barack Obama announces the "common security of the world" of the world is at stake in Afghanistan and then sets a timeline for withdrawal a sentence later.
3) Oprah: What grade would you give yourself, for this year?Obama: Um, good solid B+
...Oprah: So B+, what could you have done better?
Obama: Well B+ because of the things that are undone. Health care is not yet signed. If I get health care passed we tip into A minus.
2) But I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking. -- Barack Obama
1) The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. . . . What I think we know — separate and apart from this incident — is that there is a long history in their country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that’s just a fact. -- Barack Obama on the arrest of his friend, Henry Louis Gates.