Barack Obama: “These steps are helping unlock American innovation, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and increase our Nation's…”

Every president here today, as different as we are, has tried our best to uphold the values that John McCain and Mitt Romney believed in no less than I did.

a belief that our military and law enforcement owe allegiance not to any president or political party, but to the people and our constitution … a belief in the peaceful transfer of power

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…

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.