Barack Obama: “I'm a persistent son of a gun.”

the American people want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away

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

We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse…

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