Barack Obama: “It's going to require a victory of practicality and common sense and good policymaking over short-term politics.”

I think when you understand the complexities of America and the contradictions of America, I don’t think it makes you love it less. I think it makes you love it more.

Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold the values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in no less than I did.

That's what I hope every visitor to this center takes away from their experience.

I hope this center will serve as an affirmation of just how special, how precious our democracy truly is.