Barack Obama: “I made a series of commitments, series of promises to the American people.”

This idea that any suggestion or criticism that America was anything other than perfect is unpatriotic... is a suggestion that you hate your country.

In forming our union, the founders fell terribly short of the Declaration's promise, leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property.

No one was more skilled at bringing people together and getting legislation passed.

They're meant to remind us of who we can be, to remind us of what's possible, so we can forge ahead.