Parenting & Family Quote by Mark Kennedy

The line is calibrated empathy: a politician using parenthood as a credential, not just a biography. “I now have two kids of my own in college” isn’t incidental detail; it’s a preemptive rebuttal to the standard suspicion that elected officials don’t live with the consequences of their policies. By locating himself inside the tuition squeeze, Kennedy tries to convert a public issue into a private proof of authenticity.

The phrase “keep the dream alive for every family” borrows the glossy moral language of the American Dream, but notice how “dream” softens the harder argument about wages, debt, and state disinvestment. It’s aspiration talk that sidesteps blame. Nobody is accused; nobody is named. The problem is framed as “rising tuition costs” - an almost weather-like force - rather than a set of choices made by legislatures, universities, and lenders. That vagueness is strategic: it invites bipartisan nods while keeping policy specifics safely offstage.

“I share the concern” is the key bit of political ventriloquism. It promises alignment with anxious parents without committing to a remedy that might anger fiscal hawks, private colleges, or anti-subsidy voters. The intent is reassurance and coalition-building: you, the parent, are seen; we, the leaders, feel it too.

Contextually, this rhetoric thrives in eras when higher education is treated as both necessity and luxury - essential for mobility, priced like a premium product. Kennedy is trying to stand in the doorway between those realities, sounding compassionate while leaving room to negotiate how much help government should actually provide.