They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.'

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

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

My strong preference has always been to legislate when I can get legislation done.

On every continent, there are girls who will go on to change the world in ways we can only imagine, if only we allow them the freedom to dream.

Two-thirds of Americans believe that, after a baby's heart is beating and they can feel pain, that they need some protection.

Every single American - gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, transgender - every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of our society. It’s a pretty simple proposition.