We remember the surge and we remember the Awakening -- when the abyss of chaos turned toward the promise of reconciliation. By battling and building block by block in Baghdad, by bringing tribes into the fold and partnering with the Iraqi army and police, you helped turn the tide toward peace.

The only reason I send a single young man or woman in uniform anywhere in the world is because I think it's necessary to keep us safe.

The interesting thing about the African-American experience in this country is that we are sort of a mongrel of people. I mean we're all kind of mixed up.

American leadership is not simply a matter of going it alone and bearing all of the burden ourselves.

If you were president 50 years ago, the tragedy in Syria might not even penetrate what the American people were thinking about on a day to day basis. Today, they're seeing vivid images of a child in the aftermath of a bombing.

We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil.

We can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests.