... the country deserves us to be willing to compromise on behalf of the greater good.

I've got certain responsibilities that I have to carry out in a very specific institution and in a specific moment in time.

Our journey is not complete until all our children... know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.

I think the American people can change Washington. But I think that it is not going to change, because somebody from on high directs that change.

The time to fix our broken immigration system is now... We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace... But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America... Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. So let us mark this day with remebrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.

I think if you worked at the community level in Chicago and then a politician on the South Side of Chicago, and worked at the state level, then you're pretty familiar with all the variations of politics in the African American community and criticisms you may get. If you're not familiar with those or you don't have a thick enough skin to take it, then you probably wouldn't have gotten here.