Wasserman Schultz was speaking at an event at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia hosted by the National Jewish Democratic Council, or NJDC, where she was presented with an award.
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Democratic President Obama also predictably described Clinton as being uniquely qualified for the White House. Obama explicitly spoke of his readiness to “pass the baton” to the one-time rival who later served as his secretary of state for four years.
In a searingly emotive address on the third night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the USA president boldly stated that Mrs Clinton was even more qualified to lead the country than both himself and former president Bill Clinton. You might buy it or not, but it’s a reminder that politics doesn’t always have to alienate.
Transferring popularity is a hard, sometimes impossible, task, though in Clinton’s case it can’t hurt that Obama’s standing has rebounded significantly as the contest to replace him has heated up.
She focused much of her speech on extolling the nominee that year, Vice President Al Gore, praising him as “Bill’s trusted partner”. That’s what I see, that’s the America that I know.
Following directly from that, though, Kaine veered to the subject of the Republican nominee.
Delegates rose in an emotional standing ovation for the mother of one of the victims in last month’s Orlando nightclub shooting, who asked why “common sense” gun policies were not in place when her son died.
“Ronald Reagan called America a “shining city on a hill.’ Donald Trump calls it a “divided crime scene” that only he can fix”. The guy promises a lot. How can there be pleasure in saying “You’re fired”?
“I never want you to ask that question about your child”, Christine Leinonen said.
Hours later, Trump told Fox News he was being “sarcastic” although shortly after his remarks on Wednesday, he tweeted that Russian Federation should share the emails with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Believe me!” he shouted, to audience laughter. “And through every victory and every setback, I’ve insisted that change is never easy, and never quick – that we wouldn’t meet all of our challenges in one term, or one presidency or even in one lifetime”. By the way, does anyone here believe that Donald Trump’s been paying his fair share of taxes?
“He is trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That’s a bunch of malarkey!” She said on Wednesday night that she needed time to “reflect and process” the events of the week before she could make up her mind about the general election. In both his campaigns, Mr Obama carried more than 90% of black voters, the overwhelming majority of Hispanics, and more than half of young people and women.
“America is already great”, he said.
“America is already great. And to all of your supporters here and around the country, I want you to know I’ve heard you”, Clinton said.
“Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way”, he said. “We don’t look to be ruled”.
The president also dismissed the idea that race relations between African-Americans and police officers were getting worse, citing “festered” problems that had gone on for decades.
Those are the same priorities that Clinton is putting at the core of her own campaign. In an earlier statement, he accused Democrats of living in a “fantasy world”, ignoring economic and security troubles as well as Clinton’s controversial email use at the State Department. Eight years later, the Obamas will return the favor and try to put the Clintons back in the White House. “Not really a facts guy either”, he said.
NY media mogul Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, assailed fellow billionaire Trump in a speech of his own, calling Trump’s presidential bid a “con” and ripping into his history of bankruptcies and lawsuits.
Clinton didn’t speak in 1992 when her husband was first nominated as a presidential candidate.
After his convention Trump got a boost in opinion polls.
“My time in this office”, Obama said, “hasn’t fixed everything. That’s who we are”.
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Both of them have now lived a little longer and both have seen how the relentless oppositionism of the Republican Party led inexorably to Trump, the most risky and irresponsible nominee any major political party has ever put forward.
