Part of American leadership is making sure that we're doing nation building here at home. That will help us maintain the kind of American leadership that we need.

My finely honed political instincts tell me that almost nobody believes that they should be paying higher taxes.

We've said to the Iranians all along . . . we still remain open to diplomacy. But it's been very clear that the Iranians don't want to engage with us.

Hope - Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

I'll turn the page on a growing empire of classified information. We'll protect sources and methods, but we won't use sources and methods to hide the truth.

I am going to be able to present to the incoming administration a country that is stronger. A federal government that is working better and more efficiently. A national security apparatus that is both more effective and truer to our values. Energy policies that are resulting in not just less pollution, but also more jobs.

We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.