Barack Obama: “It's such a great gift. Reagan had it. John F. Kennedy had it. And it's become very valuable to -- to a country when…”

The American people want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away

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.

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.

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.