100 years ago this week, a child was born to middle class parents in Tampico, Illinois.

That little boy grew up to become the President of the United States.

And then in 1987, he stood in Berlin and said the words that his own State Department criticized as naïve and provocative, words they edited out of his speech twice (he just kept putting them back in).

“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

And just two years later, that wall came down. Freedom and democracy took hold in Eastern Europe. And the world has never been the same – we saw the long-term effects in Cairo today.

Thank you, Mr. President. The world is safer and more secure, and America is a better place because of your selfless service to the American people.