Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

No one should have to choose between medicine and other necessities. No one should have to use the emergency room every time a child gets sick. And no one should have to live in constant fear that a medical problem will become a financial crisis.

In charting our course to the future, we are mindful of our path from the past.

This is not the time for partisan bickering. This is not the time for politics as usual. Some of us are Democrats. Some of us are Republicans. Some of us are Independents. Above all, we must be Oklahomans first.

For only by nurturing the minds and strengthening the values of our children can we give them an opportunity to be full, productive citizens, to reach their God-given potential, and to have good jobs right here in Oklahoma.

What unites Oklahomans today is what has always united us: Our unshakable faith. Our love of family and compassion for others. The unlimited promise of a hopeful future.

The only thing holding us back is ourselves.