ON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR DEATH

It has been four years since the terrible plane crash that took Paul and Sheila Wellstone away from us. Also killed in that horrible tragedy were their daughter, Marcia; Associate Chair of the state DFL, Mary McEvoy; two close aides, Tom Lapic and Will McLaughlin; and the two pilots.

Words cannot express the loss I feel every day, because of Paul's death. He was my friend for over 20 years, my colleague for two years, and my inspiration for the rest of my life. His courage of his convictions, his willingness to take a stand, his passion, his eloquence, and his tireless caring about people combined to make him an outstanding and very special United States Senator.

Paul was an astute politician, and he practiced the trade with great skill. However, he never forgot that getting elected was just the means to the end (or the beginning): the chance to serve people, to improve their lives, and to create a better world for today and for future generations. Paul would never sacrifice his principles or convictions to expediency. He never stopped caring about every person and every cause, which were dear to him. He had an unlimited capacity to include another, and another, and another person or cause to his already overloaded agenda; yet, he always did so unhesitatingly and compassionately.

Paul could not abide the duplicity and hypocrisy that he often witnessed around him. I remember one day, when he was fuming, because a colleague had failed to keep a promise to vote for one of his bills: "She said it was a tough vote for her, like that was an excuse. What am I supposed to say, 'Well, that's OK, just be with me on the easy votes.'?"

Paul always made the tough votes based on his principles and convictions. One of his last votes on the Senate floor was in opposition to the Iraq War Resolution. I was so proud to stand with him, as each of us cast one of only 23 votes against the Resolution that day! Paul was in the final days of a tough re-election campaign, and he knew that vote would be used against him. But he never wavered for an instant to do what he knew was right.

A couple of days later, he came up to me excitedly. His latest poll had shown an increase in his lead following his Iraq Resolution vote. He was thrilled that the people of Minnesota were supporting his act of conscience and political courage! My only consolation from the unmitigated disaster of his tragic death is that he boarded the plane knowing he would win re-election just 11 days later.

Paul and Sheila were such extraordinary people. It is still hard to believe and impossible to accept that they are gone. There is no way I could ever make sense out of such a tragedy. The only choice is to carry on in their memories by following the examples of courage, passion, and compassion they left as their enduring legacies for all of us.