I have absolutely no plans and no expectations of ever being a candidate again.

If you allow someone like Saddam Hussein to get nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, chemical weapons, biological weapons, how many people is he going to kill with such weapons? He's already demonstrated a willingness to use these weapons. He poison-gassed his own people. He used poison gas and other weapons of mass destruction against his neighbors. This man has no compunction about killing lots and lots of people. So this is a way to save lives and to save the stability and peace of a region of the world that is important to the peace and security of the entire world.

Here`s my point. I don`t want you to be in a position years from now where you welcome Hillary Clinton and say actually you did win. It just wasn`t close enough to make sure that all the votes were counted or whatever. Elections have consequences. Your vote counts. Your vote has consequences.

I'm naturally an optimist, but my basis for hope is rooted in my understanding of human nature.

The ability of big money to shape perceptions - where you have four anti-climate lobbyists for every single member of the House and Senate - is a big factor.

I don't have the illusion that there's any position or role in the world with as much potential for bringing about change as that of president of the United States.

It should be lifted above partisanship because it's a question of survival. It's a moral issue.