Barack Obama: “I'm very proud of you, New York.”

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

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.

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

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.