Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.

President Obama's record on national security is a tribute to his strength, and judgment, and to his preference for inclusion and partnership over partisanship.

President Obama's approach embodies the values, the ideas, and the direction America must take to build a 21st century version of the American Dream in a nation of shared opportunities, shared prosperity and shared responsibilities.

In our shock and grief one thing must remain clear, hate and prejudice are not American values. The public outrage in Laramie and all across America today echoes what we heard at the White House Conference on Hate Crimes last year -- there is something we can do about this, Congress needs to pass our tough Hate Crimes Legislation. It can do so even before it adjourns and it should do so.

Instilling sound character in our children is essential to maintaining the strength of our nation into the 21st century.

They symbolize two important, opposing things: Our standing with these (victims) and their families and our standing against those who perpetrate these acts and against the forces we often feel so helpless to stop.