Friend-

Just last week, I wrapped up a fourteen-county town hall tour that took me through small towns and rural communities across Colorado.

At each stop, I heard from Coloradans just like you who are struggling in the face of soaring joblessness, rising health care costs, and an education system that is failing far too many kids.

From Leadville to Lake City, Salida to Saguache, I heard the stories of working families and small business owners that simply can't sustain another decade of double-digit increases in health care and education costs

I spoke to city councilpersons and county commissioners that have been forced to lay off employees and scale back essential services to cope with declining revenues and record budget deficits.

And I met countless Coloradans who, like me, are worried that we're at risk of being the first generation of Americans to leave less, not more, opportunity to our kids and grandkids.

But what gives me hope is that, at each and every stop, people came out in tremendous numbers to participate in these town hall gatherings.

Parents, teachers, business owners, community leaders and high school students - people of all ages, backgrounds, parties and professions - came out to engage in a discussion on how we can build a better future for our country, together.

In Lake City - a town of just under 400 people - nearly fifty concerned citizens came to a Saturday morning town hall to share their stories and voice their concerns.

In Meeker, a group of high school students and a gathering of senior citizens told me they were worried about an education system that was failing to prepare our kids for the future.