I think the United States is still the indispensable force for positive change and for rule of law and for order and structure.

We are a nation of laws and liberties, not of a knock in the night. So it is time to end the era of John Ashcroft. That starts with replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time.

I came into public life during the 1960s when a whole bunch of us believed in our ability to change the world. And we did a lot of things.

The Russians need to understand that you cannot have peace [in Syria] unless you resolve the question of Sunni buy-in.

I think the question of abortion is one that should be left for the states to decide.

Nobody's interests are served by what's happening in Syria today. It's a catastrophe. It's the worst human catastrophe since World War II. And, as I said just now, it represents a failure of the entire international community to come to grips with solving it.

A fundamental premise of politics is we can make this work if people just never figure it out.