Barack Obama

His leadership in that institution will be missed.

Our future depends on reaffirming America's role as the world's engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation.

As President, I am just thrilled to welcome you, teachers and mentors, to the White House, because I believe so strongly in the work that you do.

Michelle and I extend our thanks to Senator Dodd for his service to our Nation.

The system failed to stop the Christmas bomber.

Again, no one stepped down. No one has been fired. And what we keep hearing from government officials is, this is not the time to point fingers.

There's a question mark where the head of the TSA should be. Senator -- Senate Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina holding up confirmation of the nominee, Erroll Southers, for months.

There is Leon Panetta, the CIA chief. His agency debriefed the bomber's father. The question is, what happened to that intelligence after those briefings?

So we have to do better, and we will do better, and we have to do it quickly. American lives are on the line.

I want specific recommendations for corrective actions to fix what went wrong. I want those reforms implemented immediately so that this doesn't happen again and so we can prevent future attacks.

I will accept that intelligence by its nature is imperfect. But it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged. That's not acceptable. And I will not tolerate it.

The U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack. But our intelligence community failed to connect those dots which would have placed the suspect on the no-fly list.

We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for Al Qaida.

We are determined not only to thwart those plans but to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat their networks once and for all.

I will not tolerate it.

Our nation is at war against the far-reaching network of violence and hatred.

Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan.

I am the commander in chief of the military, of the nation, in the midst of two wars.

I make this decision because I am convinced that our security is at stake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the epicenter of violent extremism practiced by al Qaeda.

It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda and that this group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America.

All people are born with an unalienable right to freedom.

Mentors are building a brighter future for our Nation by helping our children grow into productive, engaged, and responsible adults.

I encourage Americans to give back by mentoring young people in their communities who may lack role models.

Instead of giving in to fear and cynicism, let's renew that timeless American spirit of resolve and confidence and optimism.

Make no mistake, that's exactly what we've been doing.