I get always a little uptight when I hear politicians say how exceptional America is.

I promise just to serve two terms. Republicans do it differently. They just have the son repeat the father's whole first term.

We need to talk to all the players in the Middle East, not because we agree with them, but because they play a role.

But I can tell you what I believe: When tens of thousands of innocent souls have perished in Darfur-when 11 million children are without health insurance-when our colossal debt subjects our economic future to the whims of Asian bankers-no one can tell me that faith demands this Senate spend its time arguing over a handful of judges. No one with those priorities can use my faith to intimidate me.

If Russia is there [in Syria] alone fighting them [ISIL], guess what? Russia becomes the target and Russia starts seeing - who knows - MANPADs will find their way in there, airplanes will fall out of the sky. They will become vilified. They'll become the new magnet, together with Assad, for the jihadis.

If we can't have a serious conversation without politicizing it on cable TV and making it a scoring point for one day, we're in trouble.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.