Leadership isn't just legislation, that it's a matter of persuading people and giving them confidence, and bringing them together and setting a tone.

African American boys oftentimes fall behind in school early, start feeling discouraged, check out, drop out, end up on the streets and then get into trouble.

We should be more modest in our belief that we can impose democracy on a country through military force.

The more we can encourage entrepreneurship, particularly for young people, the more they have hope. That requires some reforms in these [African] governments: rooting out corruption, increased transparency and how government operates, making sure that regulations are not designed just to advantage elites, but are allowing people who have a good idea to get out there and get things done.

The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil.

The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.