I've met graduating college kids facing loan payments and a bad economy, and they are worried that they won't be able to get a job. This is not the way America needs to be.

As president, my goal in Afghanistan will be to complete a successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014. I will evaluate conditions on the ground and solicit the best advice of our military commanders. And I will affirm that my duty is not to my political prospects, but to the security of the nation.

It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.

No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate, they know that this is the place that we were born and raised.

I would explain to my children very simply that the defense of liberty is a cause that exacts a very high price in the history of humankind.

Leadership - leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.

And this President wakes up every morning, looks out across America and is proud to announce, 'It could be worse.' It could be worse? Is that what it means to be an American? It could be worse? Of course not. What defines us as Americans is our unwavering conviction that we know it must be better.