Susan and Doyle in “Unfinished Business”

Susan

My husband, John, served in the U.S. Army. He was a lieutenant in the 116th Infantry Brigade. Served all over the world, including Afghanistan, where his platoon was tasked with the rather onerous job of patrolling a 20-mile stretch of desert along the Kandahar-Herat highway. He called me one night while he was over there, and when he told me what their assignment was, I said, "Well, what is it about this 20-mile stretch of desert that's so important to our country? Is it a village that needs protecting from the Taliban, a prison where we're holding terrorists?" "No," he says. "It's a pipeline." A pipeline that the Afghani government, in exchange for billions of dollars, was allowing American companies to build on its land. One of those companies – Doyle Energy.

[laughs] Okay. This...

Susan

I'm talking now. Hearing my husband say that, it made my blood boil. Here he was, putting his life at risk so American businessmen could line their pockets. I wanted to say something, voice my rage, tell my husband to get the hell out of there... but I didn't. I bit my tongue because we are not our husbands' keepers. Fourteen hours later, a Taliban sniper put a bullet through my husband's neck, severed his carotid artery, killed him almost instantly. I didn't blame the shooter. I didn't even blame the government or the energy companies. I blamed myself. I had an opinion, and I didn't voice it. I kept my mouth shut, and I swore that day that I would never again be silent. I became a United States Senator, I became the Vice President of the United States of America, and I plan to become the President of the United States because, no, we are not our husbands' keepers, but maybe we should be America's. Next question.