I want us to heal America and bring it together because that's, I think, the best way for us to get the future that our children and our grandchildren deserve.

Part of the problem that we have currently in the Middle East is that[Bashar] Assad has hung on to power with the very strong support of Russia and Iran and with the proxy of Hezbollah being there basically fighting his battles.

Of course, ISIS is a terrible organization that has to be defeated. And, of course, we need a strong military. But just as with every other agency of government, you know what, the military also has got to get rid of waste and fraud and cost overruns.

I think that is a fair general statement, but I also believe that Senator [Barack] Obama served on a board with Mr. [Bill] Ayers for a period of time, the Woods Foundation, which was a paid directorship position.

I think our great task is to make certain that our young men and women in the military do not get sucked into never- ending, perpetual warfare within the quagmire of Syria and Iraq. And I will do my very best to make sure that that doesn't happen.

We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady.

We are at a stage in history in which remolding society is one of the great challenges facing all of us in the West.