A nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

I believe that we have better ideas. But I also believe that good ideas don't matter if people don't hear them.

We remember the grind of the insurgency -- the roadside bombs, the sniper fire, the suicide attacks. From the 'triangle of death' to the fight for Ramadi; from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south -- your will proved stronger than the terror of those who tried to break it.

I have seen, the desperation and disorder of the powerless: how it twists the lives of children on the streets of Jakarta or Nairobi in much the same way as it does the lives of children on Chicago 's South Side.

We will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it - not by turning it over to Wall Street.

Going through the legislative process is always better, in part because it's harder to undo.

Ten thousand people died, an entire town destroyed.