Nixon in 1968 unlike Obama 2008 was elected as a minority president with only 43 percent of the vote. Yet in 1972 he won what in some measures was the most lopsided election in American history with 61 percent.

Hollywood has a history of raising expectations beyond Washington's reach of appealing to the very American desire to mythologize political leaders particularly the president.

What people forget is that the most radical thing about Obama is that he was the first black man in history to imagine that he could become president who was able to make other Americans believe it as well. Other than that he is a centrist just like I try to be. He's been bridging divisions his whole life.

The Democrats co-opted the credit for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But if you go back and look at the history a larger percentage of Republicans voted for that than did Democrats. But a Democrat president signed it so they co-opted credit for having passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Unlike any other leader in modern American history we are led today by a president that has decided to pit Americans against each other.

Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.

President Barack Obama has stood watch over the greatest job loss in modern American history. And that my friends is one inconvenient truth that will haunt this President throughout history.

I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president - with the possible exceptions of Johnson FDR and Lincoln - just in terms of what we've gotten done in modern history. But you know but when it comes to the economy we've got a lot more work to do. And we're gonna keep on at it.

I want to reform the tax code so that it's simple fair and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250 000 - the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs the biggest surplus in history and a lot of millionaires to boot.

Although... the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures yet in his official action he should not be the President of a party only but of the whole people of the United States.