Optimistic Clinton flays Trump
Hillary Clinton has sought to transcend doubts about her character by presenting an uplifting vision for the nation’s future, delivering the biggest speech of her enduring public life yesterday as she formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.
Declaring that the United States is at ‘‘a moment of reckoning’’, Clinton promised that ‘‘progress is possible’’ and offered herself as a fearless president who would get the job done. She also warned against what she considers the dangers represented by Republican nominee Donald Trump.
In an address that electrified delegates and put a personal exclamation point on the four-day Democratic National Convention, Clinton yoked the history of Philadelphia, the cradle of American democracy, with her own historic candidacy to become the country’s first female president.
‘‘Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart,’’ she said. ‘‘Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we all can rise together.’’
Clinton’s 57-minute address was a coda to a convention week in which Democrats offered a meticulously choreographed answer to Trumpism and its apocalyptic view of the nation. They espoused service and diversity, inclusion and acceptance, and spoke of how the nation is ‘‘stronger together’’ – the newly energised anthem of the Clinton campaign.
Clinton delivered a scathing, although at times humorous, dressing-down of Trump and his polarising brand of politics, declaring that as president she would neither ban a religion nor build a wall to keep immigrants out of the country.
‘‘He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from ‘Morning in America’ to ‘Midnight in America’,’’ Clinton said, the former a reference to Ronald Reagan’s 1984 campaign theme. ‘‘He wants us to fear the future and fear each other.
‘‘We are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge, just as we always have.’’
Throughout the speech there were spasms of protest and boos – some people unfurled banners reading ‘‘#WIKILEAKS’’ and ‘‘KEEP YOUR PROMISES’’ – which were mostly drowned out by shouts of ‘‘Hill-a-ry’’. The scene served as a reminder that Clinton is continually trailed by those who find her objectionable, even when accepting her party’s nomination.
Clinton narrated the crusades of her nearly five decades in public service, from idealistic young activist lawyer to globe-trotting diplomat. She cited not only her years in government, but also her personal experiences as a woman, as qualifications to be president.
She made no explicit reference to the controversies that have dogged her campaign, chief among them her use of a private email server as secretary of state, but cast herself as resilient in the face of challenges: ‘‘More than a few times, I’ve had to pick myself up and get back in the game.’’
She explained why she thinks Trump is temperamentally unfit to hold the office.
‘‘He loses his cool at the slightest provocation,’’ Clinton said. ‘‘When he’s gotten a tough question from a reporter. When he’s challenged in a debate. When he sees a protester at a rally. Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.’’
At times, her speech felt like a president’s State of the Union address, ticking through a litany of policy promises that were bound to please nearly every Democratic constituency and interest group – including jobs, gun control, infrastructure and health care.
The address closed an unexpectedly difficult chapter for Clinton. Long considered Obama’s heir apparent, she endured a persistent primary challenge from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who rose from relative obscurity to rally grassroots liberals.
Sanders’s improbable success provided daily reminders of Clinton’s difficulties as a political performer and her vulnerabilities as a creature of the old order at a time when voters crave change.
Capping a week orchestrated to foster party unity, Clinton made a direct appeal to Sanders’s most fervent supporters, who have resisted her candidacy.
‘‘I want you to know, I’ve heard you,’’ she said. ‘‘Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy and passion.’’
Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea Clinton, introduced her by delivering a deeply personal character testimonial that offered an intimate look at the candidate’s role as a mother and grandmother.
With former president Bill Clinton looking on from the convention floor with watery eyes and a proud smile, Chelsea Clinton shared stories of growing up in Arkansas. She said that whenever her mother went on work trips, she would leave notes for her daughter to open, a different one each day.
‘‘She was always, always there for me – every soccer game, every softball game, every piano recital, every dance recital,’’ Chelsea said. ‘‘Sundays spent together at church and the local library, countless Saturdays spent finding shapes in the clouds, making up stories about what we would do if we ever saw a triceratops.’’
Also introducing the nominee was a Hollywood-style biographical video called Hillary. The 12-minute film – narrated by actor Morgan Freeman and produced by television writers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers – featured interviews with Obama, Bill Clinton, a survivor and first responder from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and one of Hillary Clinton’s childhood friends.
The procession of speakers who preceded Clinton, coupled with a series of short videos and performances by entertainers including Katy Perry and Carole King, collectively presented a case for putting Clinton in the White House.
As during the convention’s first three nights, the speakers embodied the diversity of the country. The father of fallen US Army Captain Humayun Khan, 27, who died in an explosion in Iraq in 2004, repudiated Trump for sowing division.
‘‘Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims,’’ said Khizr Khan, with his wife at his side. ‘‘Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution?’’ Taking a copy of the Constitution out of his pocket and holding it in the air, he said, ‘‘I will gladly lend you my copy.’’
After the Republican convention cast Trump as a law-and-order candidate, the Democrats yesterday paid tribute to law enforcement officers while stressing the need for safer and more effective policing. An emotional highlight came when family members of slain police officers spoke about their fallen heroes.
The evening’s programme was imbued with a recognition of Clinton’s historic feat: becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major party.
All 12 Democratic female senators strode on stage together, each delivering brief descriptions of their former colleague – and, for the younger senators, role model – as a loyal, humble, hard-working and steady force on Capitol Hill.
As Clinton looked out on a rapturous crowd, she took in the gravity of the moment.
‘‘Standing here as my mother’s daughter, and my daughter’s mother,’’ she said, ‘‘I’m so happy this day has come.’’
‘‘Standing here as my mother’s daughter, and my daughter’s mother, I’m so happy this day has come.’’