THK With MRO In PA
PITTSBURGH - Teresa Heinz Kerry joined Michelle Obama at a rally at Carnegie Mellon University Wednesday, saying she hoped the state's voters would support Barack Obama as they have both of her husbands.
"Pennsylvania voted for both of these good men," she said, referring to the late John Heinz, a Republican senator in the state, and Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 presidential candidate. "And this election, I hope Pennsylvania will join me in casting a ballot for another great and good man, Sen. Barack Obama."
It was Heinz Kerry's first event on Obama's behalf; her husband endorsed him before the MA primary. The rally was also Michelle Obama's first campaign stop in PA.
Michelle Obama said that despite her husband's national lead in polls, he is still the contest's underdog.
"We are gonna need Pennsylvania," she said. "Because in this ever shifting, moving bar, Barack Obama will always be the underdog. No matter how much money he raises, no matter how many wins he pulls together, no matter how many delegates he accumulates, he is still the underdog. It's the way it works."
Obama spoke to a group of about 600 people, a mix of students and community members. She was joined on the rope line after the event by Heinz Kerry, who earlier hosted her at a private luncheon.
(NBC/NJ's MATTHEW BERGER)