I'm running for the United States Senate because Oregon's working families need someone to fight for them.
I'm running because while George Bush has been taking our country to hell, Senator Gordon Smith had his hand on the handbasket every step of the way.
I'm running because Gordon Smith represents government of the rich, by the powerful, and for the special interests, and I believe in government of the people, by the people and for the people
But mostly, I'm running because I don't want to wake up ten years from now and see that only half of Oregonians have health care, and that half don't.
I'm running because I don't want to wake up ten years from now and see that inequality, the gap between the rich and powerful and the rest of us, is even more outrageous than it is today. People are tired of hearing that the economy is good, and seeing that only the rich get richer.
I'm running because I don't want to wake up ten years from now and see that the national debt on the shoulders of our children has risen to a level that is crushing the economy and forcing savage cuts in Social Security, Medicare and other vital services.
And I'm running because I don't want to wake up twenty years from now and see that global warming is destroying our farms, our forests, and our coastal cities.
These are the great issues- the great challenges --of our time. And we can meet those challenges, if we elect political leaders willing to tell the truth and act boldly.