The United States is committed to a regional order rooted in international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. That's the only way to ensure our common security.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the United States, if 43 percent of eligible voters do not vote, then democracy is weakened.

This is not class warfare. It’s math.

Even those who claim the Bible's inerrancy make distinctions between Scriptural edicts, sensing that some passages - the Ten Commandments, say, or a belief in Christ's divinity - are central to Christian faith, while others are more culturally specific and may be modified to accommodate modern life.

The government of Libya announced the death of Moammar Gadhafi. This marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, who now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny in a new and democratic Libya. The Gadhafi regime ruled the Libyan people with an iron fist. The enormous potential of the Libyan people was held back and terror was used as a political weapon. The last major regime strongholds have fallen. The new government is consolidating the control over the country. And one of the world's longest-serving dictators is no more.

The Internet and Twitter and all these things are very powerful, but it also means sometimes that instead of having a dialogue we just start calling folks - calling each other names. And that's true on the left or the right.