Barack Obama: “Your circumstances shouldn't be determined by the circumstances of your birth.”

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

a belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance not to any president or political party, but to the people and our constitution … a belief in the peaceful transfer of power

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.

It fortifies you to say that, yes, this has been part of the journey that we’re on.