Americans should tremble before suggesting that any fellow citizen lacks patriotism.

It's important to make sure that governments have some checks on what they do, that people can oversee what's being done so the government doesn't abuse it.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new.

Things change pretty rapidly. But they don't change inevitably. They change because you work for it.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.

We have to deal with the 11 million individuals who are here illegally. The bill that Senator [Marco] Rubio put forward, I think is a great place to start.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old - is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past.