American democracy faces a massive challenge. I don't think it is a certainty that we're headed toward Putin's Russia, as some commentariat does. But people need to mobilize and build up small-d democratic institutions to prepare against that eventuality.

We're not going to be living in a world where white identity politics is the basis for a major political party.

Republicans fighting back against changes Obama made means those changes are important, as with most of the major progress in American history.

I don't think the Democrats need a silver bullet.

There's an element of clowning and entertainment to Trump, that makes it surreal and hard to understand to what extent he is pretending to be a fascist or an authoritarian.

I'm convinced in 100 years Obama will have an important place in the civic pantheon of American life.

In the long run, however much damage we come through, Obama's vision is the one that's going to be left standing. It's a question of how much pain and suffering America has to endure in the meantime.