Barack Obama: “That's why today I am calling on Congress to join me in reforming our government by passing the Consolidating and…”

A drift towards extremism was "not inevitable

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.

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 basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.