As I write in the book, I do not regret either of my votes for President [Barack] Obama, nor my support of him when he ran for the Senate before that. I get excited as I ever did when I see that black man on Air Force One. But I won't settle for symbolism, and our President's record should be open for analysis.

Some of the federal programs to help homeowners were never fully implemented.

The published record will show that many in Chicago have mixed feedback on the President's [Barack Obama] role as organizer.

The president [Barack Obama] did introduce a jobs bill that could not clear Congress. The Republicans simply would not work with him.

One of the challenges, I think, is that Americans are not sufficiently vested in foreign policy.

Always firmly believing in a higher power, I have also always been in search of a spiritual peace.

While people are prepared to talk about Social Security, about marriage equality, about any number of other issues, people are not prepared - your layperson is not prepared to have a conversation about foreign policy.