Ironically, the single thing that has strengthened Iran over the last several years has been the war in Iraq. Iraq was Iran's mortal enemy. That was cleared away. And what we've seen over the last several years is Iran's influence grow. They have funded Hezbollah, they have funded Hamas, they have gone from zero centrifuges to 4,000 centrifuges to develop a nuclear weapon.

What we have to do moving forward is to make sure that small businesses that account for most of the job growth in our economy are getting the kind of financing that they need.

It is very important for I think those of us who desperately want peace, who see war as, at some level, a break-down, a manifestation of human weakness, to understand that sometimes it’s also necessary – and you know, to – to be able to balance two ideas at the same time; that we are constantly striving for peace, we are doubling up on our diplomacy, we are going to actively engage, we are going to try to see the world through other people’s eyes and not just our own.

The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer.

Lincoln basically pulled in all the people who had been running against him into his Cabinet because, whatever personal feelings there were, the issue was 'How can we get this country through this time of crisis?' 

It's particularly important that we reach out to everybody in our countries, those who feel disaffected, those who feel left behind by globalization and address their concerns in constructive ways as opposed to more destructive ways.

We will not engage in an endless process of negotiations.