Peace is not just the absence of war. True peace depends upon creating the opportunity that makes life worth living. And to do that, we must confront the common enemies of human beings: nuclear weapons and poverty; ignorance and disease.

Torture is how you create enemies, not how you defeat them.

Libya is still a mess right now.

The program grew out of a desire to address a gap identified after 9/11 ... The program does not involve the NSA examining the phone records of ordinary Americans. Rather, it consolidates these records into a database that the government can query if it has a specific lead - phone records that the companies already retain for business purposes.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.

My job is exhilarating. It's challenging. I find that the governance part of it, the decision making part of it - actually comes - comes pretty naturally. I think I've got a great team. I think we're making good decisions. The the hardest thing about the job is staying focused. Because there's so many demands and decisions that are pressed upon you.

We can't change the way Washington works unless we first change how Congress works.