You knew that the racially charged campaign that would evolve from Wright commercials would be so bitter, so ugly, so divisive that even if it were legitimate to question why your opponent’s spiritual mentor gave credence to the most egregious of racist lies, the benefits to your campaign would not outweigh the costs for the country. If you had run the ads that were being proposed, we might have closed the gap. But we would have opened wounds this country has spent decades trying to heal.

Instead, you were willing once again to risk your political future for the good of the country. This was your last chance to achieve the office you’ve sought for so long. Your restraint represents to me a once-in-a-generation political sacrifice — the essence of a man whose entire life stoically states “Country First.”