Barack Obama: “Ultimately when you're president, you're always responsible, even if you've got an uncooperative Congress.”

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

It is a decision about how do we face and embrace this finite amount of time we have on the planet.

When we choose, when we make that decision, I do believe – and there is evidence for this – that the world gets incrementally better, and that is a worthy goal and it’s worth fighting for.