There isn't a Democrat in politics alive who does not know what the Obama presidency has meant for the Democrat Party around the country. They've lost 1,500 seats. The Democrats only have five states, ladies and gentlemen, where they control the governorship and the state legislature, only five!

Hillary Clinton never had this kind of success with her invention of the vast right-wing conspiracy. She tried, but that bombed out compared to this. Back then, it was her husband that ended up being impeached despite her conspiracy theory. But, sadly, now the chants of "lock her up" are just a distant, bitter memory, and the Donald Trump administration is in the crosshairs.

Trump believes we lead nations. Trump believes we set the example. Trump believes that American exceptionalism means just that, and anybody that wants to come along with us is more than welcome to. But they got to understand who we are. We're not gonna define ourselves by telling ourselves we're no good or we don't rate, we're gonna be more like you.

At what point in human history, when was the last time it was possible for any human being to know everything that was known at that time? For example, it is humanly impossible for any human being to know everything now. So how are we gonna define smart?

The Senate was the equivalent of an aristocracy at the beginning. Senators were not even elected; they were appointed in the early days. Then that changed, and senators did become elected. But the Senate is designed to slow down out-of-control, madcap activity elsewhere in the legislative branch (i.e., in the House), and the 60-vote rule was part of that.

Thanks to NBC News and thanks to the NBC primetime TV network, Donald Trump has been in living rooms for 11 years being who he is. The Donald Trump running for president is not an unknown quantity. The Donald Trump running for president is the Donald Trump everybody's gotten to know, and quite a lot of people watch those Donald Trump TV shows, The Apprentice and whatever else on there.

Obama hasn't lost his standing because of tricks played by the Republicans. He hasn't lost his standing because the media's not fair to him. He hasn't lost his standing or his approval number because the media spent four years attacking him like they did George W. Bush. This is all on him.