I Will Not Stand By

The Profound Mistake Of Reverend Wright's Sermons Is Not That He Spoke About Racism In Our Society. It's That He Spoke As If Our Society Was Static; As If No Progress Has Been Made; As If This Country - A Country That Has Made It Possible For One Of His Own Members To Run For The Highest Office In The Land And Build A Coalition Of White And Black; Latino And Asian, Rich And Poor, Young And Old - Is Still Irrevocably Bound To A Tragic Past.

I Remember Having Meetings With Republican Senators Who Initially Had Been Trying To Engage [obamacare] But Saw That The Politics Of 'no' Were Growing Inside The Republican Party.

There Are Institutional Obligations I Have To Carry Out That Are Important For A President Of The United States To Carry Out, But May Not Always Align With What I Think Would Move The Ball Down The Field On The Issues That I Care Most Deeply About.

Torture Is How You Create Enemies, Not How You Defeat Them.

This Doesn't Mean Abandoning Our Values And Ideals; Wherever We Can, It's In Our Interest To Help Foster Democracy Through The Diplomatic And Economic Resources At Our Disposal.