I'm not the caricature that you see on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, but I'm somebody who is interested in solving problems and is pretty practical, and that, actually, a lot of the things that we've put in place worked better than people might think.

We now live in a world where the most valuable skill you can sell is knowledge. Revolutions in technology and communication have created an entire economy of high-tech, high-wage jobs that can be located anywhere there's an internet connection. And today, a child in Chicago is not only competing for jobs with one in Boston, but thousands more in Bangalore and Beijing who are being educated longer and better than ever before.

It is our generation's task, then, to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class.

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth.

We seem to have trouble with [critical thinking]. And our political system doesn't help.

Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy.

I think it's true that we shouldn't apply a strict litmus test and the most important thing in any judge is their capacity to provide fairness and justice to the American people.