Barack Obama: “I will fight every day to extend the promise of a retirement that is dignified and secure.”

If I had a blame pie for why politics is so polarised and why we're seeing a rise of populism in many places, it's because of that information that is going into our brains every day.

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.

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”.