I think, the argument sometimes that I've had with folks who are much more interested in sort of race-specific programs is less an argument about what is practically achievable and sometimes maybe more an argument of "We want society to see what's happened, and internalize it, and answer it in demonstrable ways." And those impulses I very much understand.

Today, I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year.

In a world of complex threats, our security and leadership depends on all elements of our power - including strong and principled diplomacy.

I wouldn't consider them acts of war, but I would consider them acts of property damage, commercial theft that are serious.

I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. This was discrimination enshrined in law. It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it. We are a people who declared that we are all created equal - and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.

Fighting for what you think is right is always worth it.

Because of the internet and communications, the clash of cultures is much more direct. People feel, I think, less certain about their identity, less certain about economic security.