I can't avoid the interest in the fact that I'm an injured female soldier.

When I joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1992, there were no female four-star generals. I still remember the day in 2008 when a woman first achieved that rank.

My first direct encounter with the military was when I joined ROTC as a graduate student, although my father, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, can trace the military service in our family all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

I'm glad that people know my military service. But, like this nation, we are more than our military. And the rest of our story is the same as the rest of my story.

I've decided to run for the U.S. Senate because I believe Wisconsin families need a senator who will work hard to deliver results for the middle class - a leader with the courage to do what's right, no matter how tough the odds or how powerful the special interests we have to fight.

You can set up whatever negotiations or structure you want, but until the Palestinians are willing to accept the fact, as the majority of Israelis do, that there should be two states between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, we won't have peace.

The United States and our allies across the world are working every day to fight terrorism. We must continue those efforts, and we must promote peace and freedom.

One of the best ways to see how critical being present is to effective leadership is to notice what being absent, distracted, hiding something, and/or agenda-driven does to people's ability to trust, respect, and have confidence in you.