In many ways [those middle-aged black ladies] my touchstone, because they are what I meant when I talked about the audacity of hope.

What we may think is funny or cute may end up being powerfully hurtful.

As an elected official who comes from the African-American community, there are some similarities. You are always trying to reconcile your own personal biography and affiliations with the demands of the broader democracy. And you need to make sure you are representing everybody.

If we don’t uphold our Constitution and our values, that over time, that will make us less safe and that will be a recruitment tool for organizations like Al Qaeda. That’s what I have to keep my eye on.

A political candidacy built around hope and change and compromise would eventually become a presidency of crisis and confrontation.

All I care about is making sure that I leave behind an America that is stronger, more prosperous, more stable, more secure than it was when I came into office and that's going to continue to drive me.

Why can't I just eat my waffle?