Barack Obama: “It's hard not to get cynical when times are tough.”

Now the ball’s in your court, Iowa.

People aren't looking for perpetual anger and division. They are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect, that deep in our gut, we want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away.

The success of this experiment was never a given.

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.