John Kerry:

One of my biggest disappointments about losing the election was that we couldn't send our health care plan to Congress in the first 100 Days of a Democratic Administration. The learning gained from getting knocked on your ass in defeat is not my favorite way to gain insight and knowledge but it is an event in life that sticks with you. You are forced to confront your shortcomings, you have to figure out what you did wrong, you have to listen and you have to commit yourself to change. In defeat you also learn what really matters to you. And in defeat I was reminded that as lousy as it felt to lose, life's a hell of a lot harder for the working father who wakes up every day without health care for his kids. Life's a lot harder for the mom who is afraid to let her kids go outside to play in case they get hurt and she ends up with a medical bill she can't handle. So no matter what anyone thinks, I thought I had an obligation to dust myself off and fight for those families again.