We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society, for nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference. - Joe Biden

May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation.

So, folks, let’s remember who in God’s name we are — I really mean it — what our values are, what we believe. “We the People” — that how our Constitution starts — or the Declaration. “We the People.” It’s who we are. And, by the way, no one expects politics to be a pattycake. It sometimes gets mean as hell. But the idea you turn on a television and see senior senators and congressmen saying, “If such and such happens, there’ll be blood in the street.”

Most of all I was numb, but there were moments when the pain cut through like a shard of broken glass. I began to understand how despair led people to just cash it in; how suicide wasn't just an option but a rational option.