What this nation most wants, most yearns for, most needs is someone where people know, all Americans know, that even when they disagree well with him, he will always be accountable to them above one's party, above self and any special interest.
— Joe Sestak
If you lease a part of your soul in a campaign, Washington, D.C., and the establishment... will think they have an option to buy.
In the Navy, I slept mere feet from a nuclear reactor, so I have no knee-jerk opposition to traditional reactors.
Americans want someone who is accountable to them above self, above party, and above any special interest. They want a President that has a depth of global experience to restore U.S. leadership to the world and to protect our American dream at home.
Warfare has changed so dramatically.
Americans know that we have more in common than we do differences.
People ask me if I'm liberal or conservative. I say neither - I'm pragmatic.
I think we do stand in this nation for equal rights for everybody.
Look, I went to war, and we knew by survey that when I went to war that we had a certain percentage in that carrier battle group, and when I was on the ground briefly in Afghanistan, that were gay. And now we come back to America and say they don't have equal rights. I've never understood it. This is something where we have to correct this.
We must work hard to ensure that Social Security remains solvent for future generations.
The Iran deal was working. As a solution to the problem of Iran developing nuclear weapons, it was actually working quite well.
A President can obstruct justice and Congress has the full right to hold a President accountable for such law-breaking through impeachment. After a President leaves office, I believe they may be held accountable through the courts as well.
Our 21st-century world is an incredibly dangerous one. Between brutal civil wars, violent extremism, spreading autocracy, rising inequality, territorial expansionism, election interference, and nuclear proliferation, our policymakers have their hands full.
On the aircraft carrier under my command, where the average age of sailors was 19 and a half, you could see accountability in action at all times. You especially saw it when an order was given that a plane about to launch suddenly must be switched out for another and kept on board.
Some of the greatest national security threats we face cannot be defeated or defended by traditional military hardware, but only by greatly enhanced cyberspace warfare, including both offensive cyber-warfare and cyber-security.
For far too long we have continued to mark our military prowess by the size of our forces: believing that numbers of ships, planes, and brigades is what most matters - just like during the Cold War.
I have seen how payday lenders and check cashing outfits set up in towns around military bases to take advantage of young service members, whose starting salaries are barely over $20,000 per year.
America can't go sideways anymore.
How do you govern by captaining the ship? How do you win without the trust of the crew?
I believe we should be investing in the potential of nuclear technology based on thorium, to end the use of plutonium and lead to much safer nuclear power plants, less toxic nuclear waste, and less opportunities for nuclear weapons proliferation.
Our enlisted are the backbone of our service, are exceptionally a bright group of men women.
Look, it's no longer about capacity, how many ships, how many air wings, how many battalions. It's about capability. If we dominate cyber space and know and can read the other guy's mail, and with a very accurate laser-guided munitions put it in this window or that window, it's not how much, it's knowing exactly where to pinpoint a target.
I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.
The greatest brotherhood, sisterhood that I was ever a part of are veterans.
Washington, D.C.'s lost the trust and faith of everyone.
Trump is not the problem. He is the symptom of the problem where Americans no longer believe that the system works for them.
During my years in the Navy and in the White House, I was involved in assessing how a war with Iran would go. In summary: It would be ugly.
Having served in the military, I know that militaries can stop a problem, but they can't fix a problem.
I do not agree with the use of 'signing statements' to effectively act as a line-item veto, except when the President believes a law or a provision within a law is unconstitutional.In general, if a President signs a law, they are committing themselves to enforcing it. If they don't believe it should become a law, they should veto it.
When all Americans believe that the people we elect deserve to be in power, that their conduct in office is worthy of respect, and that they can be held accountable for their decisions, our politics will finally be worthy of our great people.
Our country desperately needs a president with a depth of global experience and an understanding of all the elements of our nation's power, from our economy and our diplomacy to the power of our ideals and our military, including its limitations.
Instead of measuring military readiness in terms of overall size and numbers, we must focus on metrics of capability, particularly in technology, and positioning.
Created by Congress as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the CFPB was a direct response to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession that began with the subprime mortgage debacle and the unraveling of Lehman Brothers investment bank.
We need a president who will stand up for the CFPB and get it back into fighting shape. It is too important to be allowed to disintegrate.
I don't think people need to worry about how I stand.
Nuclear power can continue to help us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but we must do everything we can to make it safer.
I would immediately rejoin the Paris Accords and reassert U.S. leadership in the critical process of global diplomacy.
You know, I had gone to war.
I believe in national service, where you can join AmeriCorps or the military.
Well, you know, I kind of lived my whole life with people, on a Navy ship, and I'm son of an immigrant. And we've all - really appreciate being able to make something clear in a simple way that families quite understand.
Those who are in our military and now have retired or they left the service actually respect candor. And they respect those that speak without trying to politicize who they are.
I really believe, if I learned anything in the military, it was that I was accountable for my actions and I like to be part of the team that kind of brings that back to Washington, D.C. - not just responsibility, but accountability and being ready to lose my job over doing what's right.
I favor every worker having access to a retirement savings account, and there are various options for doing this. I do support states implementing their own plans, and I expect them to play an important role in increasing retirement savings for young professionals especially.
Launching a ground war against Iran would require hundreds of thousands of troops for a 'regime change followed by nation-building' operation, as we attempted in Iraq. Iran has a much more modern military, more than double Iraq's population, and almost four times the landmass.
Executive privilege is nowhere to be found in the Constitution, and thus is a very limited principle.
Torture is and must remain illegal. Warrantless wiretapping is also illegal, as was the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to Qatar without proper notice.
If elected president, it will be my solemn duty to always hold myself accountable to the American people. They deserve nothing less.
I wore the cloth of the nation for over 31 years in peace and war, from the Vietnam and Cold War eras, to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the emergence of China.
We need to transform our military forces by focusing on force posture, not force structure.
Before the CFPB, there was no single agency or entity within the federal government tasked with protecting Americans from predatory or negligent practices of banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, payday lenders, credit rating agencies and other financial service businesses.
