U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a retired command sergeant major in the National Guard, spoke at the national convention of the American Legion this morning in Louisville. Here are some of the Democrat's prepared remarks:

“I know that when we work together, as we should, in a way that transcends politics, then I know that we can do right by our veterans, and in doing that, we can come together as a nation…We can debate things, and we can have differences, but we can also work them out, and figure out how to get to our common goal. And it is your leadership and your voice that serve as a guidepost for us to work from and to try to get where we need to go.

“We have been talking about seamless transition for at least a generation. But I will tell you why I am optimistic about this now. I am optimistic because we’ve got Congress on board, we’ve got the administration on board, and we’ve got two Secretaries, Secretary Gates and Secretary Shinseki, on board and who seem committed to working together in an unprecedented way.

"In all of this, you lead the way. And on seamless transition, we need your help – to tell us what our newest veterans need, and to tell us how to do it right.  The Legion speaks with the voice of experience and has the vision to propel this to initiative to completion in the very near future.”