From the day he first walked through the door of the Oval Office, President Obama's top priority has been growing our economy, creating good jobs, and rebuilding middle class security.
Nothing would do more to improve Israel's security or its relations with its neighbors than to bring about a sovereign and contiguous Palestinian state alongside a secure, democratic, Jewish Israel.
My wife Kari and I have three incredible kids. And like parents everywhere, we want our children to grow up in a country and a world that is peaceful, and where, if they work hard, they can reach their God-given potential.
When my mom and dad got married, they lived in south Boston, which is where the first six of my brothers were born. After that, they moved to Minnesota, which is where the other five of us were born. So there's 11 of us.
I'm indebted to the teachers who shaped me - from the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Croix Catholic elementary to the monks of St. John's in Minnesota to my professors at Georgetown.
In my case, I played sports my whole life. I got out of college, and I didn't bother to get health care coverage because I just figured I didn't need it. But you know that if you blow out your knee on a basketball court or you get in a car accident, and you're uninsured, it can bankrupt you.
Part of what makes America great is that we stand by the countries that share our values around the world. That's why throughout its history, the State of Israel has had no greater friend than the United States of America.
President Obama understands that, as a nation founded by those who fled religious persecution, freedom of religion is central to who we are as Americans. Our rights are not given to us by government, they are endowed by our Creator.
We're underscoring to everybody the promise at the heart of the Affordable Care Act, which is quality, affordable health care coverage available in a transparent marketplace for the first time ever.
The borders of Israel and an independent Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps. Each state needs secure and recognized borders, and there must be robust provisions that safeguard Israel's security.
The United States is proud to be the first country to recognize the existence of a Jewish State - just 11 minutes after Israel's independence was declared.
I traveled with then-Senator Obama to Israel in 2008. I will never forget our time in the holy city of Jerusalem and following behind him as he approached the Western Wall - and even in the dark hours of that very early morning, it was a place bustling with energy afforded by one's faith.