Hillary: We just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ loyalists warn of party split after Clinton victory
(A22)
At least more than 100 celebrities pledge to work against Donald Trump
PHILADELPHIA—On a night awash in history, Hillary Clinton triumphantly became the first woman to lead a major American political party toward the White House, breaking through a barrier that painfully eluded her eight years ago.
She put an electrifying cap on the Democratic convention’s second night, appearing by video from New York and declaring to cheering delegates, “We just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet.”
Minutes earlier, former president Bill Clinton took on the role of devoted political spouse, declaring his wife an impassioned “change-maker” as he served as character witness.
He traced their more than 40-year political and personal partnership in deep detail.
Long enough
“She has been around a long time,” he acknowledged.
Casting her experience as an attribute, he added, “She’s been worth every single year she’s put into making people’s lives better.”
For a man more accustomed to delivering policy-packed stem-winders, Clinton’s heartfelt address underscored the historic night for Democrats, and the nation.
If she wins in November, the Clintons would also be the first married couple to each serve as president.
She will take on Donald Trump, who won the Republican nomination a week ago.
Trump, who campaigned on Tuesday in North Carolina, mocked the former president’s speech in advance, calling him “over-rated.”
At Trump’s convention last week, Clinton was the target of blistering criticism of her character and judgment, a sharp contrast to the warm and passionate woman described by her husband. Seeking to explain the vastly different perceptions of his wife, Clinton said simply, “One is real, the other is made up.”
In an important move for party unity, her primary rival Bernie Sanders helped make it official when the roll call got to his home state of Vermont, prompting delegates to erupt in cheers.
Moments after Clinton claimed the nomination, a group of Sanders supporters left the convention and headed to a media tent to protest what they said was their being shut out of the party.
At the same time, protesters who had spent the day marching in the hot sun began facing off with police.
Trump cheered the disruptions from the campaign trail.
In North Carolina, he told a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that, “our politicians have totally failed you.”
Deep frustration
Indeed, Clinton’s long political resume — secretary of state, senator, first lady — has sometimes seemed an odd fit for an electorate deeply frustrated with Washington and eager to rally around unconventional candidates like Trump and Sanders. Many voters have questions about her character and trustworthiness, suggesting she’s used her access to power to her personal advantage.
Public polls consistently show that a majority of Americans don’t believe she is honest and trustworthy.
That perception was reinforced after the FBI director’s scathing assessment of her controversial email use as secretary of state, even though the Justice Department did not pursue charges.
Julianne Moore, Bryan Cranston, Kerry Washington, Mark Ruffalo, Neil Patrick Harris, Lena Dunham, Shonda Rhimes, and Macklemore are among more than 100 celebrities joining a campaign to urge Americans to deny Donald Trump the White House.
The campaign is part of MoveOn.org Political Action’s #UnitedAgainstHate campaign.
“We believe it is our responsibility to use our platforms to bring attention to the dangers of a Trump presidency, and to the real and present threats of his candidacy,” says an open letter signed by the celebrities.
“Trump wants to take our country back to a time when fear excused violence, when greed fueled discrimination, and when the state wrote prejudice against marginalized communities into law .... Some of us come from the groups Trump has attacked. Some of us don’t. But as history has shown, it’s often only a matter of time before the ‘other’ becomes me.” (AP)