A Promised Land

by Barack Obama

Perhaps most troubling of all, our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of crisis—a crisis rooted in a fundamental contest between two opposing visions of what America is and what it should be; a crisis that has left the body politic divided, angry, and mistrustful, and has allowed for an ongoing breach of institutional norms, procedural safeguards, and the adherence to basic facts that both Republicans and Democrats once took for granted.

May 1, 2011: With my national security team, watching as Navy SEALs raided Osama bin Laden’s compound. It was the first and only time as president that I watched a military operation unfold in real time.