Barack Obama: “Think about--just take 'don't ask, don't tell' as an example.”

Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.

People need to “rediscover what’s the story we tell about how we’re going to live together, and see each other, and recognise each other, and disagree, and yet, still care for each other”.

I think when we act on that basis, it doesn't always work out, but over time things do get better.

It is a decision about how do we face and embrace this finite amount of time we have on the planet.