President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, last time at the Phoenix Awards Dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
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Hillary Clinton only represents more of the same stale Democrat policies which have failed black Americans for decades. For Mrs. Clinton to secure their vote, her campaign will have to push black voters to the polls – a task that could depend in part on the community’s loyalty to Mr. Obama, and the party’s ability to muster enthusiasm among voters. “Go vote”, he implored. “You want to give me a good sendoff? I am inspired”, she said, urging the crowd to register to vote and actually cast ballots for Clinton.
The post Obama says if African-Americans do not vote, it will be a “personal insult” appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
On what’s on the ballot: “My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot”. Tolerance is on the ballot.
Barack Obama has given an impassioned speech imploring voters to turn out in numbers in November’s election, claiming that “democracy is on the ballot”. He won 93% of African-American votes against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
And if that wasn’t enough to sway voters, Obama made it personal.
Black voters were among Clinton’s most loyal supporters during the Democratic primaries, powering her to a series of wins in the South that helped her build a delegate lead against Vermont Sen.
Slapping at Trump’s “outreach to the African-American community, Obama quipped: “Well, we do have challenges, but we’re not stupid”.
Even though Obama didn’t mention Trump’s name during this section of his speech, his message was certainly communicated loud and clear.
Obama joked about the “birther” issue long promoted and now dismissed by Trump, telling his audience that there’s an extra spring in his step now that the “whole birther thing is over”. “I mean, ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change, none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate”. I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow. “In other breaking news, the world is round, not flat”, Obama added, echoing remarks he made during the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, where the president mocked Trump at length as he sat in the crowd with cameras trained on him.
“We need ideas, not insults, real plans to help struggling Americans in communities that have been left out and left behind, not prejudice and paranoia”, she said.
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For her part, Clinton told the gala Obama’s legacy must be protected.
