President Barack
Obama handed his legacy to Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, as He invited Hilary
Clinton up for the speech with a powerful endorsement and the enduring image of
a warm embrace.
Clinton joined Obama on stage after
his speech, and the President and his 2008 primary rival clung together in a
shared moment of symbolism: the nation's first African-American leader
entrusting its future to the woman who could become its first female commander-in-chief.
Barack Obama was in
Philadelphia at the Democratic National Convention 12 years to the day after he
shook politics with a convention speech in Boston that encouraged Americans to
look at the common threads that unite them. He offered a similar empowerment
vision of the nation, clearly saying America
doesn't need a "self declared savior" like Donald Trump to fix it.
Undaunted by the
experience of a president that unfolded in a time of crisis and deep
ideological divides, he renewed his faith in the idea of a unified nation. The
speech crystallized the two visions of America emerging this election season,
following last week's Republican National Convention in which Trump blasted
Obama for leaving the country divided and plagued by crime.
"The America I know is full of courage, and
optimism, and ingenuity," Obama said. "The America I know is decent
and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties -- about paying the bills,
protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political
gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness
of Orlando or Nice."
He went on: "But as I've travelled this
country, through all fifty states; as I've rejoiced with you and mourned with
you, what I've also seen, more than anything, is what is right with
America."
Obama then made an impassioned case for Clinton,
saying no man or woman had ever been as prepared to be president.
"Nothing truly prepares you for the demands of
the Oval Office," Obama said. "But Hillary's been in the room; she's
been part of those decisions."
He acknowledged Clinton had made mistakes, but
compared her to Teddy Roosevelt's valiant striver who errs, but also knows
great triumphs.
"Hillary Clinton is that woman in the
arena," Obama said.
He also made an appeal to Bernie Sanders supporters
who are still cool on Clinton.
"You've got to get in the arena with her,
because democracy isn't a spectator sport," he said.
Obama hugs Clinton during the third
night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Throughout the
night, speaker after speaker levelled heated criticism of Trump aimed at
undermining his image as a tough guy who understands Americans. Vice President
Joe Biden painted Trump as completely unqualified for the presidency.
"He is trying
to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That's a bunch of
malarky," Biden said. "This guy doesn't have a clue about the Middle
Class. Not a clue."
The crowd roared
with approval, chanting "not a clue."
Biden said Trump
was unable to handle the complexities of a dangerous world.
"No major
party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been
less prepared to deal with our national security," he said.
Biden used his
address on the third night of the Democratic National Convention to appeal to
middle-class voters, a group Clinton is under pressure to win over. Leveraging
his blue-collar bona fides, he argued Clinton is intimately familiar with the
economic disenfranchisement that helped power Trump's rise.
On Thursday, Trump
told a crowd at a rally in Davenport, Iowa, the Democrats are acting "like
everything is wonderful."
"I watched
last night, and it was like all beautiful roses," he said.
'Hillary gets it'
"Everybody
knows she is smart," Biden said. "Everybody knows she is tough. But I
know what she is passionate about. I know Hillary. Hillary understands. Hillary
gets it."
Former New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, said he was not a Democrat or a Republican
but appeared at the convention to demolish his fellow billionaire's reputation
in business.
"I believe we
need a president who is a problem-solver, not a bomb-thrower," said
Bloomberg.
He quipped that
unlike Trump, he didn't start his business empire with a "million dollar
check from my father."
"Trump has
left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits,
angry shareholders and contractors who feel cheated, and disillusioned
customers who feel ripped off," Bloomberg said. "Trump says he wants
to run the nation like he's run his business. God help us!"
"I am a New
Yorker, and I know a con when I see one."
He went on:
"The bottom line is: Trump is a risky, reckless, and radical choice. And
we can't afford to make that choice!"
The night of the
DNC also offered a big opportunity for Tim Kaine, Clinton's vice presidential
pick, who introduced himself to an audience unfamiliar with his years as a
governor and senator in Virginia.
He affected an
impression of Trump and used the billionaire's verbal tick "Believe
Me" to ridicule him as a "slick talking, empty promising, self promoting,
one man wrecking crew."
Noting that his
son, Nat, deployed with the US Marines this week, Kaine quickly slammed Trump
for raising the possibility that his administration wouldn't always defend NATO
allies.
Kaine said his son
would "protect and defend the very NATO allies that Donald Trump now says
he wants to abandon."
He made a case that
Americans should trust Clinton.
"I trust
Hillary Clinton with our son's life," Kaine said. "You know who I
don't trust? Donald Trump."
"You cannot
believe one word that comes out of Donald Trump's mouth. Not one word,"
Kaine said, slamming the GOP nominee as a "slick talking, empty promising,
self promoting, one man wrecking crew."
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