“You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.”

Today’s headlines and history’s judgement are not the same.

Race is a constant factor in American life. Yet reacting to every incident,real or imagined, is crippling, tiring, and ultimately counterproductive.

If I can look at your zip code and I can tell whether you’re going to get a good education, we’ve got a real problem.

You have to have a strong sense of your values and a strong sense of who you are, because there are a lot of events and a lot of people who will pull you in this direction or that direction.

I think America is still a bright, shining city on the hill – not because we’re perfect but because we struggle in our imperfections every day.

Out of struggle very often comes victory.

Defeating human trafficking is a great moral calling of our time.

But the truth of the matter is, we’re an open society, we want to remain an open society, and there will continue to be vulnerability. That’s why we have to meet the threats when they are not yet taking place on our territory and on our soil.

I was born in segregated Birmingham, Alabama. I didn’t have a white classmate till we moved to Denver.

Differences can be a strength.

Every life is worthy and every life is capable of greatness. We have an obligation to make sure that opportunity for greatness is there.

Democracy is the most realistic way for diverse peoples to resolve their differences, and share power, and heal social divisions without violence or repression.

You will make a difference in the world, but not immediately. Your first obligation is to find something you like doing, because if you like doing it, you’ll do it well.

Self esteem comes from achievements. Not from lax standards and false praise.

People want to psychoanalyze me, but the fact is, I’m not that complicated. I’m pretty straightforward. And I’m not all that self-reflective, because I tend to be a doer.

So I think, if September 11 taught us anything, it taught us that we’re vulnerable, and vulnerable in ways that we didn’t fully understand.