Barack Obama

Obviously I couldn’t have done anything that I’ve done without Michelle… not only has she been a great first lady, she is just my rock. I count on her in so many ways every single day.

If you were going to list the 100 most popular things that I have done as president. Being married to Michelle Obama is number one.

[on Michelle] A dedicated mom, a good friend, and someone who’s not afraid to poke a little fun at herself from time to time

And in my own life, in my own small way, I’ve tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That’s why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us – no matter what our age or background or walk of life – each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

Michelle’s not somebody who wants to be deeply involved in policy development. She’s my closest friend and my most important adviser. But I don’t anticipate her sitting around the table trying to figure out tax policy. She’ll probably choose a project that she cares about. But her number-one priority is going to be these kids, and making sure that their transition is one in which the wonderful normalcy that they have is maintained.

Michelle’s like Beyoncé in that song ‘Let me upgrade ya!’ She upgraded me.

It is a truism that education is no longer a luxury. Education in this day and age is a necessity.

Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.

Do not neglect your life skills, which should include a healthy dose of financial education.

Any man can learn anything he will, but no man can teach except to those who want to learn. Education is preeminently a matter of quality, not amount.

It is only the ignorant who despise education.

What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch of a free, meandering brook.

I never let schooling interfere with my education.

A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.

All the learnin’ my father paid for was a bit o’ birch at one end and an alphabet at the other.

All of life is a constant education.

You must unlearn what you have learned.

I was dyslexic, I had no understanding of schoolwork whatsoever. I certainly would have failed IQ tests. And it was one of the reasons I left school when I was 15 years old. And if I – if I’m not interested in something, I don’t grasp it.

By making college unaffordable and student loans unbearable, we risk deterring our best and brightest from pursuing higher education and securing a good paying job.

When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.

I don’t care what their [Guns N’ Roses] record is. If you need a blood donor and the only person who can give you a transfusion is Hitler, you take the blood.