Thank you all for your thoughts and understanding this week relating to my governor's death. I was pretty much in shock all this week, with a little of the ups and downs thrown in for good measure. I don't know exactly how to explain it other than I think I understand how people felt after JFK and his brother were assassinated. For Missouri, Gov. Carnahan was our democratic savior. Democratic trainings in the state were called "Camp Carnahan." He saved us from years of Republican statewide rule. He saved us from the possibility of having William Webster (of the infamous Webster v. Reproductive Health Services decision by the U.S. Supreme Court turning back the clock on women's lives) win as our governor by defeating him solidly in 1992. Even if he had lost to Senator Ashcroft this November, he still saved us by simply standing up to Ashcroft and opposing him. By opposing him, the race was suddenly a real one, Ashcroft wasn't just going to walk, and we had hope. By simply opposing him, Ashcroft had to stop all of his thoughts of running for president, as he was planning on doing before Carnahan announced his run. On a personal level, Carnahan was an incredibly likable guy who even turned conservatives around and helped make liberal issues not seem so frightening to many regular Missouri folks. He was progressive without seeming like a "crazy liberal". It's not that I just wanted a Democrat in the Senate from Missouri. I was really fighting to have Carnahan as our Senator because he would have been a tremendous bridge between the political divide. Again, thank you for your understanding. I just thought you may want to know a little more about who he was and who he was to Democrats in Missouri. I can only imagine what it must be like for his family, friends, and for those back in the state who were actually working on his campaign day to day.