America does not presume to know what is best for everyone

We rise and fall as one people, one nation.

The terrorists do not speak for over a billion Muslims who reject their hateful ideology.

We can lose so much of what we've gained in terms of the kind of democratic freedoms and market-based economies and prosperity that we've come to take for granted.

In the wealthiest nation on Earth – no illness or accident should lead to any family’s financial ruin.

Physically, I feel probably as good as I've ever felt. And I've got as much energy as I ever did. But what you feel after eight years - and I think you'd feel this no matter what, but anytime you have a big transition, it gets magnified - is time passes.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed.