Good evening Superintendent Huff, Principal Sachetta, faculty, parents, family, friends, the people of Joplin, and the class of 2012. Congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor of playing a small part in this special day.

The job of a commencement speaker - aside from keeping it short and sweet - is to inspire. But as I look out at this class, and across this city, what's clear is that you're the source of inspiration today. To me. To this state. To this country. And to people all over the world.

Last year, the road that led you here took a turn that no one could've imagined. Just hours after the class of 2011 walked across this stage, the most powerful tornado in six decades tore a path of devastation through Joplin that was nearly a mile wide and thirteen long. In only 32 minutes, it took thousands of homes, hundreds of businesses, and 161 of your neighbors, your friends, and your family members. It took Will Norton, who had just left this auditorium with a diploma in his hand. It took Lantz Hare, who should've received his diploma next year.

By now, most of you have probably relived those 32 minutes again and again. Where you were. What you saw. When you knew for sure that it was over. The first contact you had with someone you love. The first day you woke up in a world that would never be the same.

And yet, the story of Joplin is the story of what happened the next day. And the day after that. And all the days and weeks that followed. As your city manager, Mark Rohr, has said, the people here chose to define the tragedy "not by what happened to us, but by how we responded."

That story is part of you now. You've grown up quickly over the last year. You've learned at a younger age than most that we can't always predict what life has in store for us. No matter how we might try to avoid it, life can bring heartache. Life involves struggle. Life will bring loss.

But here in Joplin, you've also learned that we have the power to grow from these experiences. We can define our own lives not by what happens to us, but by how we respond. We can choose to carry on, and make a difference in the world. And in doing so, we can make true what's written in Scripture - that "tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope."

Of all that's come from this tragedy, let this be the central lesson that guides you and sustains you through whatever challenges lie ahead.

I imagine that as you begin the next stage in your journey, you will encounter greed and selfishness; ignorance and cruelty. You will meet people who try to build themselves up by tearing others down; who believe looking after others is only for suckers.

But you are from Joplin. So you will remember, you will know, just how many people there are who see life differently; those who are guided by kindness and generosity and quiet service.

You'll always remember that in a town of 50,000 people, nearly 50,000 more came to help in the weeks after the tornado - perfect strangers who've never met you, and would never ask for anything in return. One of them was Mark Carr, who drove 600 miles from Rocky Ford, Colorado with a couple of chainsaws and his three little children. One man traveled all the way from Japan, because he remembered that Americans were there for his country after last year's tsunami, and he wanted the chance to pay it forward. Many were AmeriCorps volunteers who have chosen to leave their homes and stay here until Joplin is back on its feet.

There was the day that Mizzou's football team rolled into town with an 18-wheeler full of donated supplies. Of all places, they were assigned to help out on Kansas Avenue. While they hauled away washing machines and refrigerators from the debris, they met Carol Mann, who had just lost the house she lived in for eighteen years. Carol, who works part-time at McDonald's even as she struggles with seizures, told the players that she had even lost the change purse that held her lunch money. So one of them went back to the house, dug through the rubble, and returned the purse with $5 inside.

As Carol's sister said, "So much of the news you hear is so negative. But those boys renewed my faith that there are so many good people in the world."

That's what you'll remember. Because you are from Joplin.

You will remember the half million dollar donation that came from Angelina Jolie and Missouri native Brad Pitt. But you'll also remember the $360 that was delivered by a nine-year-old boy who organized his own car wash. You'll remember the school supplies donated by your neighboring towns, but also the brand new laptops that were sent from the United Arab Emirates - a small country on the other side of the world. When it came time for your prom, make-up artist Melissa Blayton organized an effort that collected over a 1,000 donated prom dresses, FedEx kicked in for the corsages, and Joplin's own Liz Easton, who lost her home and her bakery in the tornado, made 1,500 cupcakes for the occasion.

There are so many good people in the world. There is such a decency, a bigness of spirit, in this country of ours. Remember that. Remember what people did here. And like the man from Japan who came to Joplin, make sure to pay it forward in your own life.

Just as you have learned the goodness of people, so have you learned the power of community. As take on the roles of colleague and neighbor and citizen, you will encounter all kinds of divisions between groups - divisions of race, and religion, and ideology. You'll meet people who like to disagree just for the sake of being disagreeable; who prefer to play up their differences and instead of focusing on what they have in common, or where they can cooperate.

But you are from Joplin. So you will know that it's always possible for a community to come together when it matters most.

After all, a lot of you could've spent your senior year scattered throughout different schools, far from home. But Dr. Huff asked everyone to pitch in so that school started on time, right here in Joplin. He understood the power of this community, and the power of place. And so teachers worked extra hours, and coaches improvised. The mall was turned into classrooms, and the food court became a cafeteria - which sounds like a bit of an improvement. Sure, the arrangements might have been a little noisy, and a little improvised, but you hunkered down, and you made it work. Together.

Together, you decided that this city wasn't about to spend the next year arguing over every detail of the recovery effort. At the very first town meeting, every citizen was handed a Post-It note, and asked to write down their goals and their hopes for Joplin's future. More than 1,000 notes covered an entire wall, and became the blueprint that architects are following to this day.

Together, the businesses that were destroyed in the tornado decided that they weren't about to walk away from the community that made their success possible. Even if it would've been easier. Even if it would've been more profitable to go somewhere else. Today, more than half the stores that were damaged on the Range Line are up and running again. Eleven more are planning to join them. And every time a company re-opens its doors, people cheer the cutting of a ribbon that bears the town's new slogan: "Remember. Rejoice. Rebuild."

I've been told that before the tornado, many of you couldn't wait to leave here once high school was finally over. Your student council president, Julia Lewis, said, "We never thought Joplin was anything special; but seeing how we responded to something that tore our community apart has brought us together. Everyone has a lot more pride in our town." It's no surprise, then, that many of you have decided to stick around, and go to colleges that aren't too far from home.

That's the power of community. That's the power of shared effort. Some of life's strongest bonds are the ones we forge when everything around us seems broken. And even though I expect some of you will ultimately end up leaving Joplin, I'm convinced that Joplin will never leave you. The people who went through this with you; the people you once thought of as simply neighbors or acquaintances; classmates or even friends - the people in this auditorium tonight - they are family now. They are family.

In fact, my deepest hope for all of you is that as you begin this new chapter in your life, you will bring that spirit of Joplin to every place you travel and everything you do. You can serve as a reminder that we're not meant to walk this road alone; that we're not expected to face down adversity by ourselves. We need each other. We're important to each other. We're stronger together than we are on our own.

It is this spirit that's allowing all of you to rebuild this city. It's the same spirit we need right now to help rebuild America. And you, class of 2012, will help lead this effort. You're the ones who will help build an economy where every child can count on a good education; where everyone who is willing to put in the effort can find a job that supports a family; where we control our own energy future and we lead the world in science and technology and innovation. America will only succeed if we all pitch in and pull together - and I'm counting on you to be leaders in that effort.

Because you are from Joplin. And you've already defied the odds.

In a city with countless stories of unthinkable courage and resilience over the last year, there are some that still stand out - especially on this day. By now, most of you know Joplin High senior Quinton Anderson, who's probably embarrassed that someone's talking about him again. But I'm going to talk about him anyways, because in a lot of ways, Quinton's journey has been Joplin's journey.

When the tornado struck, Quinton was thrown across the street from his house. The young man who found him couldn't imagine that Quinton would survive such injuries. Quinton woke up in a hospital bed three days later. It was then that his sister Grace told him that both their parents had been lost to the storm.

Quinton went on to face over five weeks of treatment, including emergency surgery. But he left that hospital determined to carry on; to live his life, and to be there for his sister. Over the past year, he's been a football captain who cheered from the sidelines when he wasn't able to play. He worked that much harder so he could be ready for baseball in the spring. He won a national scholarship as a finalist for the High School Football Rudy Awards, and he plans to study molecular biology at Harding University this fall.

Quinton has said that his motto in life is "Always take that extra step." Today, after a long and improbable journey for Quinton, for Joplin, and for the entire class of 2012, that extra step is about to take you towards whatever future you hope for; toward whatever dreams you hold in your hearts.

Yes, you will encounter obstacles along the way. Yes, you will face setbacks and disappointments.

But you are from Joplin. And you are from America. No matter how tough times get, you will be tougher. No matter what life throws at you, you will be ready. You will not be defined by the difficulties you face, but how you respond - with strength, and grace, and a commitment to others.

Langston Hughes, the poet and civil rights activist who knew some tough times, was born here in Joplin. In a poem called "Youth," he wrote,

To the people of Joplin, and the class of 2012:

The road has been hard. The day has been long. But we have tomorrow, and so we march. We march, together, and you are leading the way. Congratulations. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Updated 4:50 p.m. ET- President Barack Obama endorsed the right of same-sex couples to marry on Wednesday, a landmark pronouncement made in light of mounting pressure from gay rights advocates.

Obama became the first U.S. president to back the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry, a reversal from views expressed during the 2008 campaign, when he said he opposed same-sex marriage but favored civil unions as an alternative.

Related: The ‘evolution’ of Obama’s stance on gay marriage

Obama told ABC News that, after reflection, he had "concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

Related: Romney calls marriage 'tender' issue, skirts Obama remarks

In making his announcement, Obama completes what he had described as an “evolution” in his views on this issue, hastened by growing fervor this week involving gay rights. The growing pressure was capped Tuesday by North Carolina voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment banning not only same-sex marriages, but civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, as well.

Obama’s shift not only speaks to a broad swath of the electorate, which has exhibited increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage in opinion polls, but also gay and lesbian voters who compose a core part of Obama’s base, and have been major fundraisers for his re-election.

ABC News

President Barack Obama appears in an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, speaking in support of gay marriage. "It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," the president said.

Obama explained that he had hesitated in fully supporting same-sex marriage because he thought civil unions would be sufficient.

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married," he told ABC.

The president had found himself under increasing pressure this week to state his position unequivocally after Vice President Joe Biden voiced support for same-sex marriage.

"I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties," Biden said on NBC’s "Meet the Press." "And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction beyond that."

While the White House emphasized that Biden’s position wasn’t representative of the entire administration, Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s pronouncement Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in support of same-sex marriage added to pressure on the president.

“I have no update on the president's personal views,” press secretary Jay Carney said repeatedly at Monday’s White House press briefing in reference to the president’s self-styled “evolution” on gay marriage.

As a result, Obama has risked fallout among his political base. The Washington Post reported this week that gay and liberal donors had threatened to withhold financial support for the president or a super PAC due to his refusal to sign an executive order barring discrimination of gays and lesbians in federal contracting.

And Obama was expected, too, to encounter frustration at a major Hollywood fundraiser this week at the home of actor George Clooney.

The overwhelming approval, too, of the measure, which Obama had opposed, in North Carolina -- a key swing state -- heightened speculation that the president might address the issue.

RELATED: North Carolina approves ban on same-sex marriage

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney re-iterated his opposition to both same-sex marriage and civil unions on Tuesday.

"I have the same view on marriage that I had when I was governor and that I've expressed many times," he said following the president's announcement. "I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman."

Earlier, he told KDVR-TV in Denver: "I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name ... My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not."

Obama has faced tremendous pressure throughout his administration to advance gay rights.

Among his earliest acts as president included signing an executive order extending benefits to federal employees in same-sex partnerships in 2009. Obama also ordered the government to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act -- the 1996 laws allowing states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in other states -- in court.

The administration’s crowning achievement on gay rights came more methodically, though -- sometimes to the frustration of advocates for same-sex rights.

Obama signed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” -- the military’s ban on openly gay or lesbian service members -- into law in December 2010. But the repeal came after months of legislative wrangling, and the president’s refusal to sign a simple order to make the change. And even after Obama signed the law, the implementation took months.

FIRST READ: Is Obama's gay marriage stance all about suburban voters?

Same-sex marriage is hardly the hot-button issue it was compared to the last decade, though. Support for it now eclipses opposition; 49 percent of Americans said that favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry, according to the March NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, while 40 percent oppose it. (In October 2009, 49 percent opposed same-sex marriages, while 41 percent supported them.)

Opinion has shifted especially among independent voters, who back marriage rights 46 percent to 37 percent. About three in 10 Republicans said they, too, support same-sex marriage.

However, of the 18 states making composing the “toss-up” or “lean” categories in NBC’s battleground map, 10 have banned same-sex marriage and civil unions outright, either by constitutional amendment or statute. Just two -- Iowa and New Hampshire -- have legalized gay marriage outright, while other states operate in more nebulous space when it comes to gay and lesbian couples.

AP via Rolling Stone

The Rolling Stone cover with President Obama. The issue hits newsstands Friday, April 27.

President Barack Obama knows the stakes of this year's election are high.

After all, he told Rolling Stone magazine, his legacy thus far has been met with mixed reviews.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in June on whether the individual insurance mandate that is a key component of the Obama administration’s health care law is unconstitutional.

Though the economy has stabilized, a recent NBC/WSJ poll found that voters feel presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney leads Obama 40% to 34% when it comes to considering which candidate has savvier ideas on shoring up the economy.

Still, Obama feels confident that this fall voters will reject what he sees as Republicans' "shift to an agenda that is far out of the mainstream — and, in fact, is contrary to a lot of Republican precepts."

He also underscored that though there have been tense exchanges between his administration and GOP congressional leadership, the president does not see the relationship as “frosty.”

“When John Boehner and I sit down, I enjoy a conversation with him. I don’t think he’s a bad person,” Obama said. “I think he’s patriotic. I think that the Republicans up on the Hill care about this country, but they have a very ideologically rigid view of how to move this country forward, and a lot of how they approach issues is defined by ‘Will this help us defeat the president?’ as opposed to ‘Will this move the country forward?'"

In the interview, which writer and Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner described as "somber," Obama said that in many ways, the election is a referendum on his first-term performance.

"Now, the burden on me is going to be to describe for the American people how the progress we’ve made over the past three years, if sustained will actually lead to the kind of economic security that they’re looking for,” Obama said. “There’s understandable skepticism because things are still tough out there.”

Obama acknowledged that the unemployment rate, which is at 8.2 percent, is “way too high.”

"You have folks whose homes are underwater because the housing bubble burst, people are still feeling the pinch from high gas prices,” Obama said. “The fact of the matter is that times are still tough for too many people, and the recovery is still not as robust as we’d like, and that’s what will make it a close election.”

The past four years have also given the president an opportunity to examine issues of race and describes his own views on the topic as “complicated.”

"Race has been one of the fault lines in American culture and American politics from the start," he said. "I never bought into the notion that by electing me, somehow we were entering into a post-racial period.

"On the other hand, I’ve seen in my own lifetime how racial attitudes have changed and improved, and anybody who suggests they haven’t isn’t paying attention or is trying to make a rhetorical point.

"We all see it every day, and me being in this Oval Office is a testimony to changes that have been taking place.”

More: Obama leads Romney by six points, but Republican ahead on economy
Girl meets Obama in a bar, makes best surprised face ever 
Watch Obama slow-jam with Jimmy Fallon 
Obama campaign offers dinner at Clooney's 

TODAY.com contributor Halimah Abdullah is the site’s woman in Washington.

Chris Keane / Reuters

Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney speaks to supporters in Charlotte, North Carolina April 18, 2012.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Mitt Romney delivered a blistering attack on President Obama's economic record just footsteps from the site where the president will accept his re-election nomination this summer.

On a rooftop a few hundred yards away from the Bank of America stadium, Romney offered his own alternative version of what North Carolinians could expect to hear from the president in his acceptance speech, as well as what they would not.

"What you won’t hear at that convention is that for the last 38 months, unemployment has been above 8 percent, that we’ve had 24 million Americans that are out of work, stopped looking for work, or underemployed," Romney said.

"You won’t hear that, since he gave that speech and became president, that there have been 50,000 more job losses here in North Carolina, more than twice as many as would fit in that stadium," Romney continued, referring to the nearby stadium, the home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, where the president will speak on the final night of the Democratic convention.

The empty stadium was meant to serve as the backdrop for Romney's speech today -- a visual bracketing of the president -- but was ultimately thwarted by rain that forced the remarks indoors.

Romney focused not just on Obama's planned 2012 convention speech, but also his 2008 remarks, reading aloud from a portion at one point and substituting then nominee-Obama's rebuke of the Bush economy, with his own criticism for the Obama economy, urging the president to take ownership of the economy.

"He can’t continue to try and deflect blame elsewhere," Romney said. "At some point he’s got to acknowledge this is his economy –- that what’s happened is the result of his policies –- not of his predecessors, not of Congress."

He even cracked a joke at the expense of the optics of Obama's acceptance speech, in which the president stood amidst towering Greek columns on the floor of Denver's Invesco field.

"You're not going to see President Obama standing alongside Greek columns. He's not going to want to remind anybody of Greece," Romney said.

The former Massachusetts governor also said the economy may yet improve before Election Day, but that the president would deserve no credit if it did so.

"Upon being elected president he said if we let him borrow $787 billion he would hold unemployment below eight percent, and it has not been below eight percent since," Romney said. "Now its going to get below 8 percent someday. Our economy always come back, comes back -- but it's no thanks to the policies of Barack Obama."

The presumptive GOP nominee also predicted that, despite the presence of the Democratic convention in the state, and the president's current organizational edge here, Romney would return the Tarheel State to the Republican column in 2012.

"The president’s going to do everything he can to get North Carolina in his column, and that will not be enough because we’re gonna win North Carolina in November," Romney said, to cheers.

In a nod to recent polling that continues to show Obama's personal favorability ratings greatly outpacing his own, Romney also argued that liking the president alone was not reason enough to vote for him.

"Even if you like Barack Obama, we can't afford Barack Obama," Romney said.