The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette printed an op-ed by Teresa Heinz Kerry yesterday:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08083/867043-109.stmPennsylvania needs a president like Barack Obama, someone who understands the tough times Pennsylvanians are facing. Raised with much love but in challenging circumstances by a single mom and grandparents, he knows firsthand the stress and financial pressures families face. When he beat the odds and put himself through college, he could have made good money with a big-name law firm anywhere in the country, but he chose the gritty streets of Chicago's South Side where, as a community organizer, he worked helping families like his build better lives.
Mr. Obama's work taught him what happens to families and communities when factories shut down and jobs go overseas. He knows firsthand the devastation and despair the global economy can bring -- and how important hope is in overcoming setbacks and getting lives and neighborhoods back on track.
But there's more to Mr. Obama than hope. There's a practical approach to economic recovery. It starts with a tax cut of up to $1,000 -- for middle-class families, not for millionaires. And Mr. Obama believes that there can be no "free" trade without fair trade. He's committed to fixing NAFTA, so that it works for American workers. For those whose jobs are threatened by foreign trade, Mr. Obama supports reforms to the Trade Adjustment Assistance program so that workers can be retrained before they lose their jobs.
Mr. Obama's health-care plan will cover every child in America, and help families afford the same kind of insurance he and I both have, by giving them access to the same plan that covers Congress. He'll simplify paperwork and ensure no family can be turned down, regardless of pre-existing conditions. As I saw in Sen. Heinz, and as I see in my husband, Sen. John Kerry, a personal connection to working families drives Mr. Obama in his passion to get working Americans and seniors access to affordable insurance.
The whole thing is really good, so be sure to check it out:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08083/867043-109.stm