The shift to a cleaner energy economy wont happen overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way. But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.

We must begin by acknowledging a hard truth. We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations, acting individually or in concert, will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

I was elected because I believed in what we call "grassroots politics," politics from the bottom up, not the top down.

Instead of giving in to cynicism and division, let's move forward with the confidence and optimism and unity that define us as a people.

This is our moment...while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

We don't quit. I don't quit. Let's seize this moment.

I never understood that line. The point was to inhale. That was the point.