Barack Obama: “The United States joins with the Arab League in its support for the Syrian people.”

I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

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”.

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.