i'm sure everyone knows, but senator wellstone was just killed in a plane crash while campaigning in minnesota.

i was never able to meet the senator, but i saw him a couple of times and he seemed like a great man. we ran over to his office shortly after they confirmed that he was on the plane to see if there was any way we could help--answering phones, whatever--and everyone is, naturally, a wreck. the press is camped outside the front door of the office, so we went around to a different entrance. we didn't go into the office, but we talked to daschle's o.m., who's down there helping out, and we asked if there was anything we can do and offered to help in any way possible. the staff was in a meeting, but the people we could see were, obviously, a wreck. i just wanted to bust through the door and give them hugs and a shoulder to cry on.

it's tough--i know before i held this position, i just saw senators and politicians as people who stand there and debate things before voting on them. not really anything beyond the suit. and i obviously didn't think about the masses of people who work for each politician--in offices in washington, home states, etc. and i'm sitting here, trying to imagine how senator wellstone's staff got through learning of their boss' death while watching cnn during an otherwise typical friday afternoon. i joke about my role working for the senator, i admit that. but, even after only a couple of months here, if something happened to the senator, i'd be a wreck. once you assume a position in the shadow of a man like that, you get to experience little bits of everything they deal with. you see how the public affects the work you do, how the media plays a role, how one statement, one call, one whatever, can influence everything. when the senator struggles, you struggle. and when the senator does something amazing, you get an incredible feeling of pride--pride for both the senator and yourself for being a part of that, no matter how small a part that might be. it sounds cheesy, i know, but it's true--the person you work becomes a part of you.

and to have that ripped away--i don't even know.

my senator was speaking on cnn when we got back from senator wellstone's office, and i almost cried when i heard his voice on the phone. he was choked up and emotional, and that's what did it for me--to hear him so upset was almost too much.

let's just put it this way: i've seen many things since arriving here, but this is one that i didn't expect to deal with. it's difficult and it's incredibly eye-opening. i can't believe i'm here for it.