Barack Obama: “I don't accept--I don't expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp; I don't expect any Member of Congress to be a rubber stamp.”

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say.

It is a decision about how do we face and embrace this finite amount of time we have on the planet.

And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.

A drift towards extremism was "not inevitable