America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page of the policies of the past.
— On Claiming Democratic presidential nomination victory over Hillary Clinton after his triumph in Montana primary, June 3, 2008.

I honour, we honour, the service of John McCain, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine.
— Speaking after Montana primary, June 3, 2008.

I'm not denouncing the church, and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church. It's not a church worthy of denouncing.
— On resigning membership of Trinity United Church of Chjrist, May 31, 2008.

I've got two daughters, nine years old and six years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.
— Speaking at a Town Hall Meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, March 29, 2008.

John McCain once opposed these tax cuts. He rightly called them unfair and fiscally irresponsible. But now he has done an about face and wants to make them permanent, just like he wants a permanent occupation in Iraq. No matter what the costs, no matter what the consequences, John McCain seems determined to carry out a third Bush-term. That's an outcome America can't afford. Because of the Bush-McCain policies, our debt has ballooned.
— A speech on the cost of war, March 20, 2008.

We've got a tragic history when it comes to race in this country. We've got a lot of pent-up anger and bitterness and misunderstanding. ... This country wants to move beyond these kinds of things.
— A speech on race, March 18, 2008.

But the anger is real. It is powerful. And to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.
— In a speech on race, March 18, 2008.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.
— In a speech following Super Tuesday results, February 5, 2008.

I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
— Interview in Christianity Today, January 22, 2008.

I did. It's not something that I'm proud of. It was a mistake as a young man, but you know. I mean not going to -- I never understood that line. The point was to inhale. That was the point.
— About his marajuana use, when asked "did you inhale?", November 2007.

If I sit down with the leader of Iran, I will send him a strong message that Israel is our friend, that we will assist in their security and that we don't find nuclear weapons acceptable.... That's not going to be a propaganda coup for the president of Iran.
— In a CNN/YouTube debate, July 23, 2007.

In Africa, you often see that the difference between a village where everybody eats and a village where people starve is government. One has a functioning government, and the other does not. Which is why it bothers me when I hear people say that government is the enemy. They don't understand its fundamental role.
— In a profile in The Independent Magazine, March 10, 2007.

We can build a more hopeful America. And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.
— Speech at Illinois capital Springfield, February 2007.

The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place.
— In webcast to supporters on his website, January 2007.

We're not going to babysit a civil war.
— Voicing skepticism of President Bush's plans for a US military buildup in Iraq, January 2007.