And I love that even in the toughest moments when we're all sweating it - when we're worried that the bill won't pass and it seems like all is lost - Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother he just keeps getting up and moving forward... with patience and wisdom and courage and grace.

I have a hat. It is graceful and feminine and give me a certain dignity as if I were attending a state funeral or something. Someday I may get up enough courage to wear it instead of carrying it.

Give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind spare to us our friends soften to us our enemies.

Courage is grace under pressure.

The secret was to just be cool stay in God's graces and work it out.

The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?

God give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed courage to change the things which should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense without the grace of genius can deal with successfully.

Our worldly successes cannot be guaranteed but our ability to achieve spiritual success is entirely up to us thanks to the grace of God. The best advice I know is to give is to give those worldly things your best but never your all - reserve the ultimate hope for the only one who can grant it.

But what we can do as flawed as we are is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what I strive to do that's what I pray to do every day.