One of the thing about being President - that can't be taught, you have to experience, is - there is the sheer weight of decision making. And when I make a decision to send 17,000 young Americans to Afghanistan - you can understand that intellectually. But understanding what that means for those families, for those young people - when you end up sitting at your desk, signing - a condolence letter to one of the family members of a fallen hero - you're reminded each and every day, at every moment, that - the decisions you make count.
Barack ObamaI can document this past week [of presidency] we've put out memos from every agency showing what did we do. Try to be as honest as possible. There's a little hype involved obviously. It's spin because it's our agencies. We feel some pride about it. But tried to be self-critical as well.
Barack ObamaEven when our heart aches, we summon the strength that maybe we didn't even know we had, and we carry on; we finish the race.
Barack ObamaOn behalf of the American people, just let me say that we are proud to count Greece as one of our closest allies and one of our greatest friends.
Barack Obama