Excerpt:

"From Barry Goldwater and George McGovern to John Kerry and John McCain, I’ve taken heart from senatorial colleagues who refused to be defined by their failure to become president.

"Sure, losing an election hurts, but I’ve experienced worse. And at an age when every day is precious, brooding over what might have been is self-defeating. In conceding the 1996 election, I remarked that “tomorrow will be the first time in my life I don’t have anything to do.” I was wrong. Seventy-two hours after conceding the election, I was swapping wisecracks with David Letterman on his late-night show."

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