Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The Senate chamber is not the most beautiful space in the Capitol, but it is imposing nonetheless. The dun-colored walls are set off by panels of blue damask and columns of finely veined marble. Overhead, the ceiling forms a creamy white oval with an American eagle etched in its center. #2 I remember January 4, 2005, the day I and a third of the Senate were sworn in as members of the 109th Congress. The sun was bright, the air unseasonably warm. From Illinois, Hawaii, London, and Kenya, my family and friends crowded into the Senate visitors' gallery to cheer as my new colleagues and I stood beside the marble dais and raised our right hands. #3 I had experienced politics first hand in the Illinois legislature, and I had come to understand how it was played. I had thought that if I could reach out to the voters directly and explain the issues in a truthful manner, they would see that politics could be different. #4 After my victory, I felt like the rookie who showed up after the game, ready to play, even though his mud-splattered teammates tended to their wounds. Democrats told me about the fallen leader Tom Daschle, who had seen millions of dollars' worth of negative ads rain down on him

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