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Think about how our country was built. The greatness came from our diversity; the greatness came from individuals with different perspectives coming together.

America is a mosaic not of groups but of individuals, each of whom carries a host of cultural influences, some chosen, some inherited, some absorbed by osmosis. That mosaic is held together by the pursuit of happiness, the most powerful mortar ever conceived. Left alone, it will long endure.

We are a diverse country, but we are one country. And we are at our best when we come together as Americans, not despite our differences, but in celebration of them.

Our cultural diversity has most certainly shaped our national character.

The great and admirable strength of America consists in this, that America is truly the American people.

It may be the optimist in me, but I think America has a uniquely powerful and capacious glue internally. The American identity has always been ethnically and religiously neutral, so within one generation you have Italian-Americans, Irish-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Jamaican-Americans - they feel American. It's a huge success story.

What makes America great is that we can come together during times of national tragedy.

America's greatness is largely because of how we value the weakest among us.

People say America is exceptional. I agree, but it's not the complexion of our skin or the twists in our DNA that make us unique. America is exceptional because we were founded upon the notion that everyone should be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

We are the only country in the world that has taken people from so many different backgrounds, which is a great achievement by itself, but an even greater achievement is that we have turned all of that variety and diversity into unity.