“These Negroes, they're getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since they've got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference. For if we don't move at all, then their allies will line up against us and there'll be no way of stopping them, we'll lose the filibuster and there'll be no way of putting a brake on all sorts of wild legislation. It'll be Reconstruction all over again." -- Lyndon B. Johnson on the Civil Rights Act of 1957

  • leftofthat [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I know we're an oil country and we need American energy. And, by the way, American energy production -- you wouldn't always know it -- ugh -- but, you know, it went up every year I was president. Um, and you know that whole -- suddenly America is like the biggest oil producer and the biggest gas -- that was me, people. I just want you [[crowd laughter]]. So, uh -- ha ha -- it's like sometimes you go to Wall Street and folks'll be grumbling about "anti-business" and I said: "Have you checked where your stocks were when I came into office? Where they are now? What? What are you talking -- what are you complaining about? Just say "thank you," please.

    -- Obama (great citations needed episode)