NewsTrack Desk

Obama: "Those who defend these programs are not dismissive of civil liberties. The challenge is getting the details right."

President Obama: "I maintained a healthy skepticism toward our surveillance programs after I became President."

President Obama: "Throughout our history, intelligence has helped secure our country and our freedoms."

"The bottom line is, 2014 needs to be a year of action. We have work to do." —President Obama #ABetterBargain

Obama: "Since October 1st, more than 1 million Americans have selected new health insurance plans through the federal & state marketplaces."

Obama: "More than half a million Americans have enrolled through HealthCare.gov in the first 3 weeks of December alone." #GetCovered

Obama: "In 2013, our businesses created another 2 million jobs, adding up to more than 8 million in all over the past 45 months."

President Obama: "The unemployment rate has steadily fallen to its lowest point in five years." #ABetterBargain

"He no longer belongs to us—he belongs to the ages." —President Obama on Nelson Mandela

Obama on Mandela: "His commitment to transfer power & reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to"

Obama: "The day...he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when...guided by their hopes rather than...fears"

President Obama: "A free South Africa at peace with itself, an example to the world – that is Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved."

"My main message today is, 'we’re not going back.'" —President Obama on helping millions of Americans afford health insurance #Obamacare

President Obama: "Marlon Brando had it easy – when it comes to Congress, there’s no such thing as an offer they can’t refuse."

President Obama just announced that insurers can offer consumers the option to renew their 2013 health plans without changes. #Obamacare