I have not been reading the comment threads on the blogs today. I'm too tired, and emotionally wrung out. But I wanted to let the press, who are no doubt hovering, know what I'm feeling:
Fiercely proud. Fiercely proud of Howard Dean. Fiercely proud of my fellow Dean supporters. Fiercely proud of my country, the principles upon which it was founded, and its potential to rise to meet those principles.
And there will be people who will call me crazy and deluded for that. Those people are part of the reason I intend to continue this fight until the day I die.
But mostly, I intend to fight this fight for the people who still feel trapped. Trapped in a job they can't leave for fear of losing their health insurance. Trapped in a community where they feel they can't speak out for what they believe in for fear of being labeled as unpatriotic. Trapped in a political system that asks them for their wallet while telling them again and again that their voice is not only unheard but unwanted.
I fight for them, and I am fiercely proud.