Barack Obama: “Asad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way.”

This race is going to be close. It could determine which party controls the Senate and whether Ohioans can count on the people in Washington to be fighting for you.

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

A drift towards extremism was "not inevitable