The road before us

As a far from perfect but sometimes good enough dad of a 21 month old, I appreciated this:

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Among other key points, Mr Obama said the founding fathers knew that "our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."