Until today, I've always regarded my most profound professional responsibility in my professional life the blessing I had to hold in my hands the human heart, recognizing all its glory and all its potential, and then technically seating it into the chest of a dying woman to give her life and a future she would not otherwise have. . . . A few moments ago, my colleagues gave me a responsibility equal to that -- some would even say a heavier one. I accepted that responsibility with a profound sense of humility. They gave me their confidence, their support, their trust -- and elected me to serve as their leader in the United States Senate.