Aiming for unity, Obama passes the torch
President: No man, woman more qualified than Clinton
PHILADELPHIA — President Barack Obama delivered a stirring valedictory address at the Democratic convention Wednesday night, hailing Hillary Clinton as his rightful political heir and the party’s best hope to protect democracy from “homegrown demagogues” like the Republican Donald Trump.
Taking the stage to rapturous roars of “We love you” and “Yes we can,” Obama acknowledged that Democrats were still divided after a bruising nomination fight and that Clinton had made “mistakes.”
But he vouched passionately for Clinton as a trusted and reliable ally not just for him but for all Americans who need a fighter to improve their lives and keep them safe.
“She’s been there for us — even if we haven’t always noticed — and if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue,” Obama said, an explicit appeal to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders who continue to resist Clinton.
Obama offered an optimistic portrait of America and a strong defense of his policies, but also unleashed by far his most ferocious attack yet on Trump, even portraying the Republican nominee as a threat to the country. “That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end,” he said.
In the most unmistakable declaration yet by Clinton that she is effectively seeking Obama’s third term, she strolled on stage after his speech and embraced the president as the delegates roared. It was a tableau of continuity and a vivid illustration of how dependent the two former rivals are on each other now.
Obama also used his own remarks to try to drive a wedge between Trump’s campaign and Republican voters. “It wasn’t particularly Republican and it sure wasn’t conservative,” he said of last week’s Republican convention. “There were no serious solutions to pressing problems. Just the fanning of resentments and blame and hate and anger.”
The president’s contempt for Trump took on a personal dimension as well when he recalled his grandparents from Kansas and said, “I don’t know if they had their birth certificates” — a reference to Trump’s leadership of the so-called birther movement that raised questions about Obama’s citizenship.
Wednesday signaled a transition for the party. Emotion suffused the convention hall: Some delegates, in tears, were not ready to say goodbye to Obama yet, and others — particularly some liberals and young Democrats — were not ready to accept Clinton as their new leader. As she prepares to give her nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night, the left wing of the party still remains divided, while many Republicans appear ready to fall in line behind Trump.
Obama’s speech, a passionate defense of Clinton’s vision and character, did not itself herald the start of new political era. Clinton has wrapped herself in the cloth of the Obama presidency rather than break with him and offer a new path, like Vice President George H.W. Bush’s promise of “a kinder, gentler nation” in 1988 after the Reagan years.
And the convention speeches were full of cross-party appeals, as Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, offered Republicans “a home” if they felt Trump did not represent “the party of Lincoln,” and former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York urged independents to vote for “a sane, competent person” — Clinton.
Vice President Joe Biden, a party leader beloved by many rank-and-file Democrats, also pilloried Trump while heaping praise on Obama.
“No major party nominee in the history of this nation has known less or been less prepared,” Biden said. He delighted the audience by saying the Republican “does not have a clue about the middle class.”
“Actually,” Biden ad-libbed, “he has no clue, period.” The crowd responded with a “Not a clue!” chant.