Political Quotes

“In 2003, I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. After treatment, my oncologist told me I had a 28-percent chance of living more than 10 years. Think about that. I knew right away that I had a chance to use whatever time God gave me for good and noble purposes--to try and do the things I have always thought needed to be done in this country. It is an important lesson for all of you. The greatest gift you have is not your bank account. The greatest gift you have is the amount of time you have left on this Earth and what you do with that time. I chose, for good or bad, to come to the Senate. I think when we have a world of options and we make this choice, it is so important that we come here with purpose--not just to be named a Senator, not just for the trappings of office, but with purpose. The truth is, I am not supposed to be here. I am from Mantador, ND. It is a town of 90 people. When I was growing up, my family was one- tenth of the population. I just had to say that. My dad was a World War II veteran who loved education. He read the paper every day. He believed in this country. But he was never given a chance to go to high school. My family struggled to get by, and when you look at it, you think about this; you think about a country where somebody from my background could actually become a U.S. Senator. I am a Democrat from a very conservative State, but against all odds--in fact, the prediction was it was only 8 percent--I got elected to the Senate.…”