The United States believes that every nation should respect international law, including in the South China Sea.

In America, one of our challenges, historically, is that we have very low voting rates, even during presidential elections.

The president is eager to get to work and looks forward to working with the new Congress on policies that will make sure middle-class Americans are sharing in the economic recovery, but the president is clear that he will not let this Congress undo important protections gained -- particularly in areas of health care, Wall Street reform and the environment.

There are few things in life that are harder to find and more important to keep than love. Well, love and a birth certificate.

If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won't know what to protect. We won't know what to fight for.

We have not confronted forcefully enough the intolerance, sectarianism, and hopelessness that feeds violent extremism in too many parts of the globe.

This book [Dreams from My Father] was more of a reflection on my public life, now as a U.S. senator and before that as a state senator; how my perspectives around the issues of the day are shaped by my background.