I came into public life during the 1960s when a whole bunch of us believed in our ability to change the world. And we did a lot of things.

We do not need to divide America over who served and how. I have personally always believed that many served in many different ways.

America is the most powerful economy in the world. We're an $18-trillion-dollar economy.

Those who try to stifle the vibrancy of our democracy and shield policies from scrutiny behind a false cloak of patriotism miss the real value of what our troops defend and how we best defend our troops. We will ask questions and we will defend our democracy.

At every step of the way, George W. Bush has put the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans.

Remember the hours after Sept. 11 when we came together as one...It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.

We still have a lot of work to do to protect our own democracy.