I was in sit-ins to desegregate restaurants and movie houses in the '60s.

I didn't make a political speech outside of my state for 20 years. And I just focused almost exclusively on my initiatives for national crime legislation, foreign policy issues.

You're president, if you conclude my judgment is not the right judgment, I abide by that, but I want an opportunity to have an input.

Barack Obama is probably the most exciting candidate that either the Democratic or Republican party has produced at least since I've been around. He's fresh, he's new, he's insightful.

We have the greatest resource universities in the world, the only place in the world. We have the most productive workforce in the world. We have the most agile venture capitalists in the world. We have a situation where right now in the United States of America, we are near energy independent. North America is beginning to be the epicenter of energy. What is it that makes people think that this is not going to be the American century? I don't get it.

I always kid the president in different circumstances. Mr. President, a country's never going to be more optimistic than the president.

A man I'm proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!