It was a beautiful June day, the kind you wish could go on forever, when we unveiled our plan to call every American to serve our country. There wasn't a cloud to be spotted in the sky, though it was windy enough that we had to weigh down the flagpoles to make sure they wouldn't blow over. We had City Year corps members gathered for a day of service. Standing on the very same Nashua city hall steps where JFK had made his first campaign appearance as a presidential candidate in 1960, it was hard not to be caught up in the moment.
Of course, when the high point of your New Hampshire campaign comes in June instead of January, you're in trouble. And our campaign couldn't quite make it to the New Hampshire primary, having bowed out after the Iowa caucuses five days earlier.
But reflecting back on that summer day, when I painted signs with City Year corps members full of energy and optimism, I can't help but feel grateful to the people of New Hampshire. And I can't help but think New Hampshire has the nation's first primary for a reason.
I'm proud that I was the first candidate to sign Ray Buckley's pledge to keep it that way. New Hampshire voters poke and prod. You give everyone a chance. You ask tough questions, and - more important - you demand straight answers.
And above all else, you get involved. In the late fall, we wanted to do something special in New Hampshire, and local supporters had a terrific idea: Why not hold a grassroots "End the War" Day of Action? Along with my good friend, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, we worked with organizations from across the state, setting up rallies, visibilities and phone banks to call on the White House to end the war.
Every person involved loved our country. They respected the incredible sacrifice of the men and women serving our nation overseas. But they also understood that the Iraq war wasn't making us more secure but more vulnerable.
It was in New Hampshire that I raised for the first time in my campaign the issue of the rule of law: restoring the Constitution this president has shredded. It's an issue of great personal importance to me: My father was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II, where America established a half century of moral authority by extending the rule of law even to those enemies it hated the most.
As a campaign issue, I was told that the Constitution "doesn't poll well." That didn't impress me. I care deeply about the issue. So at the Hillsborough County Democrats' spaghetti dinner, where I spoke about the rule of law, Granite State Democrats told me that they cared about our Constitution, too. Because of the passion they showed, I was inspired to keep talking about the Constitution, throughout my campaign, and now on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
New Hampshire taught my wife, Jackie, and me an important lesson: Campaigns may well be about specific issues and reasonable solutions. But presidential campaigns must also be about something deeper: who we are as Americans, the kind of country we wish to leave our children - the kind of world they will inherit.
It has been nearly two months since I withdrew from the race, and before any more time has passed, Jackie and I wanted to say thank you to the people of New Hampshire, for taking so seriously the great responsibility with which you've been entrusted, and to the wonderful staff, supporters and friends we met and worked with over the past year. You gave us a remarkable opportunity to reflect on all that makes this country great, and a reminder that whatever our differences, what Americans share with one another is so much more.
We will never forget the generosity, graciousness and warmth you gave to your Connecticut neighbor.