They’re deciding that their work, their possessions, their diversions, their sheer busyness, is not enough. It’s not consistent with our traditions of justice and fairness. And so this will be a difficult debate next week. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe.

He told me he’d joined the Marines, and was heading to Iraq the following week. And meeting them won’t be easy. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter. Yet what we also understand is that our values should express themselves not just through our churches or synagogues, temples or mosques; they should express themselves through our government.