I have made this decision at home with my family and friends.  They will not allow conceit or selfish hunger for power to seduce me into making a false choice.  Here on the high plains of Nebraska, the place of my birth, I make my best decisions.  Nebraskans are the people I serve.  They are the people I owe the most for they are the ones who have given me the opportunity to serve as a United States Senator.

In several vital ways America is at a crossroads, a place in time where we must choose between the comfortable, familiar way and the more daunting and unfamiliar.  In some instances the familiar way is the best way.  In others -- if our dreams of peace and prosperity are to be sustained -- we must choose the difficult.

It is those moments when we are challenged to take the difficult path that I feel called upon to lead.  To name a few:  The old way of keeping America safe -- which worked so well in the Cold War -- will not work now that it is clear the Cold War is over.  The old way of preparing our children for the work place, parenthood and citizenship will not work now that it is clear we are in a new economy and a new world where speed, flexibility and change are needed for survival.  The old way of providing a social safety net of retirement income and health care will not work now that we know that we are converting our federal government into a cash transfer machine while simultaneously increasing the number of citizens who are less secure because of the threat of losing their health and retirement protection.

My choice is not whether or not I will try to lead.  My choice is how best can I lead.  After meeting and talking with my family and friends, my choice can now be stated publicly: I will not be a candidate for President of the United States.

My choice to remain where I am does not mean I choose to avoid the responsibilities of leading.  My choice not to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party to be our candidate for President does not mean I will forego the work of trying to alert Americans that we cannot continue down the familiar path when there is danger up ahead.  As long as I have been in public service, I have tried to conquer the fear of political consequences for doing what I believe is the right thing.  I have done this just as I have also tried to battle the tendency to presume that I am always right and others are always wrong.  My heart tells me it is right to continue the work I have begun in the United States Senate.

God and the people of Nebraska willing, my calling is to continue serving as a United States Senator.  To continue to work here at home to find ways  to help our farmers and ranchers, to seek solutions to the problem of educating our children, to bring support to the dangerous job of making our communities safe, to be a partner to those who struggle to bring dignity to the lives of our parents, especially those who have sacrificed their freedom for ours.

Of all the things I have learned in life, the most important is this: Freedom is not free; we cannot reap what we do not sow.  Americans who want their country to be great in the future, who want their world to be more prosperous and peaceful, will not achieve this most worthy goal unless we are willing to pay a price.  This does not mean we have to die for our country, nor does it mean we have to suffer needlessly.  It does mean we cannot lazily squander the talents we have been given.

My talent is best applied in the Senate.  And for a while longer I will continue to do so.
 

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