Barack Obama: “All our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration.”

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

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.

It fortifies you to say that, yes, this has been part of the journey that we’re on.

We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse…