Those self-evident principles of life and liberty, pursuit of happiness, they're not self-executing. They require each of us to get engaged. And what Barack Obama is really concerned about is to ensure that the American people appreciate their power to influence the democracy.

If left unchecked, global change will create violent conflict, torrential storms, shrinking coastlines, and irreversible catastrophe.

I think, traditionally, when the federal government has gathered statistics, it's been done in silos, so every agency really focuses on the statistics that are important to agency.

Women now make up approximately half of the workforce - very positive. Two-thirds of all families are either headed by a single-head of household or two working parents, and particularly in this economically challenging time, that second income is more important than ever. However, women are still only earning 75 percent of what men are earning.

I think that in a country as successful as ours, we still have a long way to go in terms of parity for women, whether it’s equal pay in the workforce or a whole host of other issues.

The United States is a strong and ardent ally of Israel. The fact of the matter is that friends can disagree. I think what's important is that world leaders are able to sit down with one another, have frank conversations and move forward.

As we try to compete in this global marketplace, we need to rebuild our infrastructure. We need to rebuild our schools. We need to make sure that teachers and first responders and veterans who are coming home from serving our country so proudly have jobs waiting for them.