“Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena”, he said.
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The ritualistic roll call of the states that sealed her nomination proceeded without trouble inside the hall and Sanders himself stepped up in the name of unity to ask that her nomination be approved by acclamation.
Tuesday night wasn’t all sweetness and light.
“I have confidence, as I leave this stage tonight, that the Democratic Party is in good hands”, Obama said to scattered sighs among the delegates.
According to Poynter, some newspapers used photos from Bill Clinton’s speech, at least in their first editions, because their deadlines conflicted with Hillary’s late-night address, which occurred around 11 p.m. Eastern time. Former presidents often vouch for their potential successors, but never before has that candidate also been a spouse. A 102-year-old woman, born before women had the right to vote, cast the ballots for Arizona. It wasn’t only the use of the term “girl” to describe his accomplished wife (not to mention the Democratic nominee for president), but the fact that Bill Clinton has a reputation as a womanizer, someone who had an inappropriate relationship in the Oval Office with an intern, someone who as a result became only the second president in history to be impeached, someone who put his wife out on television – not only during the 1992 campaign, but in the heat of the Lewinsky affair – to defend his actions. “She never, ever quits”, the USA president said. “I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me”, Obama said.
Close allies extol her warmth, but Clinton has struggled with relating to everyday Americans on the campaign trail over the past year.
He laid out his achievements in office – from stopping the economic slide he inherited in 2008 to achieving marriage equality for LGBTQ Americans – and said only Clinton could continue with that legacy. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice.
President Clinton spoke after three hours of testimonials from lawmakers, advocates, celebrities and citizens who argued otherwise. Among those pledging support for Clinton were the “mothers of the movement” – several black women whose children were victims of gun violence. As he got the crowd fired up at the end, Biden said, “God willing, Hillary Clinton will get to write that next chapter”.
Clinton aides believe a focus on policy is another way to rally Sanders’ supporters, especially those who threatened to stay home or vote for Republican Trump. And a chant started up: “Bernie or Jill, Bernie or Jill …”
This is one of the many balancing acts the Clinton campaign has had to perform this week – how much to build up Clinton while simultaneously trying to tear down Trump? “She’s been there for us, even if we haven’t always noticed”.
President Bill Clinton is well known for being popular among this demographic. Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen.
The former president has campaigned frequently for his wife during the White House race, but mostly in smaller cities and towns, part of an effort by the campaign to keep him in a more behind-the-scenes role.
His comments were clearly aimed at distancing the Democratic platform from stiff rhetoric by Trump, who has previously called for an all-out ban on Muslims entering the United States and has criticized Hillary Clinton for her prior support of allowing more vetted refugees from war-torn Muslim countries like Syria to seek refuge in the U.S. He’s had flashes of frustration this year, particularly when his own record on trade and law enforcement has been challenged by the party he once led, but has largely stuck to the campaign’s messages.
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President Clinton complicated the email controversy last month when he met privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the midst of the FBI investigation.
