As I travel around the world, it's fascinating; European leaders, Asian leaders, they all say to me, America is actually poised to be the world leader for another century - if we can fix some of this political dysfunction. ... We've got a lot of national security challenges, but if we get our economy together, and if we can get our political system to work well, I am really confident about our future.

I will never forget that the only reason I'm standing here today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn't popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world.

What we should be asking is not whether we need a big government or small government, but how we can create a smarter and better government.

But if you - if what - the reports are true, what they're saying is, is that as a consequence of us getting 30 million additional people health care, at the margins that's going to increase our costs, we knew that.

What I've seen in my own life is that when I get something important done it's because of a lot of other people - some who get credit, some who don't.

A relentless focus on the outward markers of success can lead to complacency. It can make you lazy.

A low-carbon, clean energy economy can be an engine of growth for decades to come.