Barack Obama: “I hereby delegate to you the functions and authority conferred upon the President by section 722 of the National Defense…”

Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold the values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in no less than I did.

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.

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 was a little tall for it.