Organizing for America | Caitlin Harvey's Blog: PA Road to Change: Senator Bob Casey Endorses Barack in Pittsburgh

PA Road to Change: Senator Bob Casey Endorses Barack in Pittsburgh

By Caitlin Harvey - Mar 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm EDT

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Barack began his "Road to Change" bus tour through Pennsylvania this morning with a community event at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial. He was introduced by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, who used his introduction to endorse Barack's campaign for President. Senator Casey said:

I believe in my heart that there's one person who's uniquely qualified to lead us in a new direction and that's Barack Obama.

We need to work hard and listen to the voices of people all across this state...We know that we have to bring change to America. If there's one thing that Pittsburgh knows, if there's one thing that Pennsylvania knows, it's that we have to do hard work. We have to invest in our economy. The best way to do that is to invest in our kids with early education and healthcare. It's not enough for elected officials like me to curse the darkness. We've got to roll up our sleeves. We have to invest in the skills of our workers.

...The new direction for America has to begin with the question of the war in Iraq. We can work hard, but we can only do so much as individual Americans. We need a President who is committed to change and a President who will lead us in that new direction, and he's right here in this room.

...[Barack] has judgment that is steady in the eye of the storm, and I believe he's the kind of leader who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief.

Barack spoke about the need to change Washington in order to tackle challenges that face all Americans, like creating jobs, improving our schools and making health care available to everyone. He said:

Our nation is at war, but the struggles at home have been dominating the headlines and have been dominating the minds of people...people right here in Pittsburgh have seen how difficult this economy is for so many Americans for a long time. Everywhere you go, people are working harder and harder just to get by. You've never paid more for gas at the pump, you've never paid more for healthcare. You've never paid more for a college education, a dozen eggs, or a gallon of milk.

In addressing the speech he gave at Cooper Union yesterday calling for immediate relief for homeowners hit by the housing crisis and modernization of our regulatory framework, Barack said:

This housing crisis didn't happen by accident. We're going to set up an FHA program that lets people stay in their home and negotiate between borrowers and lenders. It's bad for everybody when you start seeing foreclosures in the neighborhood. I want to invest in infrastructure in this country. We can invest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and put people back to work.

Barack continued:

I can't do it by myself. I've got to have you with me. Because ultimately this is about the American people standing up and insisting on real change. When you stand up, when you make your voices heard, that's when you get real change.

...When we first started this campaign, people didn't think we could do it. They thought, well he's not taking PAC and lobbyist money, how will he finance his campaign? What they didn't understand is that you were going to finance my campaign. You are what wins elections. You're the ones knocking on doors and talking to voters.

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