President Obama celebrates diversity, yet instinctively seeks common ground and builds on that common ground to make progress.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, President Obama has made it clear that the US is ready to lead a global effort to combat climate change.

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.

Part of what makes America strong is our resilience, tenacity, innovation and our willingness to be optimistic about our future. I know that President Obama is absolutely the best president to lead our country in the right direction.

We talked about the resources that the justice department has available to help them -- the technical assistance to ensure that we're diffusing situations, not encouraging them to spiral out of control.

There are certain things that Americans expect their government to do. Our infrastructure is vitally important. Putting people back to work with construction is important. Our roads, our bridges, our sewers, our waterways, our dams - this is what makes our country so special.

From day one, President Obama has made improving the quality of life for woman a top priority. It's why he created the White House Council on Women and Girls that I'm so proud to chair. Our directive was to look across the board at all of the federal agencies and determine what we could do to improve the quality of life for women and girls.