By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis – Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry brought his message to St. Louis Thursday.
Kerry and running mate John Edwards spoke to an estimated 15,000 people at Union Station.
Saying that the middle class "deserves a champion," Kerry vowed to stop the transfer of U.S. jobs overseas.
He also pledged to fight the war on terror more efficiently, and said he would restore a long-standing principle regarding war.
"The United States of America never goes to war because it wants to," Kerry said. "We only go to war because we have to. That is the standard for our nation."
Kerry said he would strengthen the military without overtaxing reserve and National Guard troops.
The Kerry campaign will travel across Missouri by train enroute to four other western states.