Minutes ago, I received an email from Jennifer Haro of Organizing for America in St. Louis concerning a woman I knew as a tireless supporter of President Obama--a Progressive who could put any Progressives among the TPM community to shame in their relative conservatism.

The email:

In a speech given by President Obama today, he paid tribute to Melanie Shouse, one of his earliest and most devoted grassroots supporters, and our friend from St. Louis.  Melanie was at the very first grassroots meeting for Obama in St. Louis, in February 2007, one week after his announcement speech in Springfield, Illinois.  Melanie was a tireless advocate for Obama, the environment, and health insurance reform.  She was a great organizer, a thoughtful leader, and a kind friend.  Her contribution to Obama's candidacy and the issues she cared for are incalculable.  Melanie died on Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer. Here is the excerpt from the President's speech acknowledging Melanie, which you will also find in the full remarks below:

From President Barack Obama: 

I got a letter -- I got a note today from one of my staff -- they forwarded it to me -- from a woman in St. Louis who had been part of our campaign, very active, who had passed away from breast cancer. She didn't have insurance. She couldn't afford it, so she had put off having the kind of exams that she needed. And she had fought a tough battle for four years. All through the campaign she was fighting it, but finally she succumbed to it. And she insisted she's going to be buried in an Obama t-shirt. (Laughter.) But think about this: She was fighting that whole time not just to get me elected, not even to get herself health insurance, but because she understood that there were others coming behind her who were going to find themselves in the same situation and she didn't want somebody else going through that same thing. (Applause.) How can I say to her, "You know what? We're giving up"? How can I say to her family, "This is too hard"? How can Democrats on the Hill say, "This is politically too risky"? How can Republicans on the Hill say, "We're better off just blocking anything from happening." That can't be the message that the American people are delivering. Yes, they're nervous, they're anxious, they're in a tough time right now. The thing they want most are jobs. They really don't like the process in Washington, the sausage-making. That part I understand. But I know that they don't -- but I know they don't want to just offer nothing to the millions of people in America who are in the situation that that woman was in. That's what we campaigned on. And we are going to keep on working to get it done -- with Democrats and I hope with Republicans and everybody else in between -- to bring down costs, to end the worst practices of the insurance industry, to finally give every American the chance to choose quality, affordable health care. We are going to keep on working to get it done. (Applause.)

I knew Melanie only from a few meetings and events we both attended. I never knew until today that she was battling breast cancer and would ultimately lose that battle. I am not willing to let her lose the other battle she fought for all the rest of us. Are you?

On Feb. 17, Healthcare for America Now will stage protests nationwide to continue the battle for health care reform and push for victory. Please go to http://healthcareforamericanow.org/ and sign up to mobilize for what H-CAN describes as "big rallies." You can also sign up for tomorrow evening's conference strategy call with Sen. Al Franken.

May God rest the fierce and gentle soul of Melanie Shouse.

Yes We Can.