Obama seeks help on healthcare push

President Obama today sent out a personal appeal -- well, at least as personal as a blast email to millions can be -- to his grassroots supporters to push Congress on healthcare.

The message saying, "I need your voice," was sent through Organizing for America, the group housed in the Democratic National Committee that inherited Obama's campaign apparatus.

"The chance to finally reform our nation's health care system is here. While Congress moves rapidly to produce a detailed plan, I have made it clear that real reform must uphold three core principles -- it must reduce costs, guarantee choice, and ensure quality care for every American," the president writes.

"As we know, challenging the status quo will not be easy. Its defenders will claim our goals are too big, that we should once again settle for half measures and empty talk. Left unanswered, these voices of doubt might yet again derail the comprehensive reform we so badly need. That's where you come in. When our opponents spread fear and confusion about the changes we seek, your support for these core principles will show clarity and resolve. When the lobbyists for the status quo tell Congress to hold back, your personal story will give them the courage to press forward."

Obama promises to read some of the personal stories, then repeats one of his own, seeing his mother die of ovarian cancer while worried about insurance.

"Last November, the American people sent Washington a clear mandate for change. But when the polls close, the true work of citizenship begins," Obama concludes. "That's what Organizing for America is all about. Now, in these crucial moments, your voice once again has extraordinary power. I'm counting on you to use it."