We remember the specter of sectarian violence -- al Qaeda's attacks on mosques and pilgrims, militias that carried out campaigns of intimidation and campaigns of assassination. And in the face of ancient divisions, you stood firm to help those Iraqis who put their faith in the future.

With respect to the Internet and emails, this does not apply to U.S. citizens and it does not apply to people living in the United States.

I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.

I think it's really important to enlarge the issue behind abortion. I have been serving for over two decades and I have seen year in and year out largely the Republicans voting against women's contraception, family planning.

Love and hope can conquer hate.

One of the great qualities of Chancellor Merkel is that she is steady. She analyzes a situation. She's honest. Sometimes we've had disagreements, but when we do, it's very constructive. And we are consistently open with each other about how we should approach these issues.

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