I will never forget that the only reason I'm standing here today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn't popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world.

I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I’m asking you to believe in yours.

So many of my staff is young enough that they're going to do amazing things. And I'm going to be helping them try to do them.

Now suddenly you got members of your [White House] team who were 23, 24. They've met their wives here, or their husbands here.

I try to explain to them about the aloha spirit. And it's that spirit that I am absolutely convinced is what America is looking for right now.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

One of the things that we have to change in this country is the idea that people can't disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism. I have never suggested that Sen. McCain picks his positions on national security based on politics or personal ambition. I have not suggested it because I believe that he genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. Now, it's time for him to acknowledge that I want to do the same. Let me be clear: I will let no one question my love of this country.