In the campaign back in 2007, 2008, people would say, "Oh, he's being naïve. He thinks that there's no red states and blue states. And wait 'til he gets here." And I will confess that, I didn't fully appreciate the ways in which individual senators or members of Congress now are pushed to the extremes by their voter bases. I did not expect, particularly in the midst of crisis, just how severe that partisanship would be.

Obama said if elected his government would "harness technology to confront the biggest challenges that America faces".

We rise and fall as one people, one nation.

And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President I could ever hope for.

Everybody acknowledges that the current path we're on is unsustainable, not just for the people who don't have health insurance but for those who do.

Insist that the first question each of us asks isn't "What's good for me?" but "What's good for the country my children will inherit?

There's no straight line to progress.