We've got an opportunity in 2009 to turn this country around, and not unlike when I came to the Senate in Colorado in 2000, the state was going in the wrong direction. We have got to provide leadership -- and this is a great district to provide leadership from -- to turn this country into one that works for the people who built it.

I've never been one to warm a seat. I put myself out there on difficult issues as a leader; I've been chosen by my peers as a leader, and I've been chosen nationally to lead an organization that changed state chambers all over the U.S. It was the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a group of state legislators, and I was the chair of the board. We helped change state Senates and Houses all over the country from red to blue.

Leadership here in Colorado was not easy. Certainly, working with Gov. Owens to get Referendum C together -- a compromise that he would agree to and that the voters would pass -- took very careful crafting. Words matter, and building coalitions matters, and honoring your commitments matters.

I've worked in and for this district for seven years, and portions of Boulder County were always in my Senate district. I had all of the 2nd CD mountain counties, with the exception of Eagle, in my Senate district. I know the federal issues -- certainly forestation and pine beetle issues, and transportation with I-70 and U.S. 36. As President of the Senate, I had to deal with the whole state, so I'm pretty familiar with the core issues of the Front Range as well as the mountains.

On the war in Iraq, I believe the time for timelines is over. I favor a complete withdrawal of our troops, which would follow a Congress standing up for its ability to appropriate. And I don't want to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act, which had a punitive framework. We'd be better off to start over on an accountability track, with schools that include the financial resources, as well as an emphasis on early childhood education.

Also, this is an innovative district -- one that can be on the cutting edge of one of the biggest issues this country faces, which is renewable energy. The work I've done here in Colorado in championing renewable energy bills, along with the work being done in this district by scientists and entrepreneurs, is something the whole country can benefit from. It would be a joy to represent this district.