Transcript: President Obama’s Democratic National Convention speech

Time and again, you’ve picked me up.  I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too.  Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me.  I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me.  Because you’re who I was talking about twelve years ago, when I talked about hope – it’s been you who’ve fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.  Hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; the audacity of hope!

Bill Clinton Makes The Case For The ‘Best Darn Change-Maker’ He Has Met

Clinton closed by contrasting the woman he knows — the "real" Hillary Clinton — with the cartoon character he accused the Republicans of running against her.
Clinton closed by contrasting the woman he knows — the “real” Hillary Clinton — with the cartoon character he accused the Republicans of running against her.

If the first day of the Democratic National Convention focused on Bernie Sanders, the second day focused solely on Hillary Clinton.

The delegates made history early, nominating Clinton to be their candidate for the presidency — making her the first woman to top a major-party ticket in the United States.

Throughout the night speakers endorsed Clinton for being a fighter. They said she fought for New York after Sept. 11, for universal health care, for civil rights and for the little guy.

In the headline speech, former President Bill Clinton made the case for the woman he called the best “darn change-maker” he has ever met.

Hillary Clinton’s husband spoke about his wife’s life journey — from the young woman with “thick blond hair and big glasses” he met in law school to her experiences as a mother and a senator and as secretary of state.

Sometimes Bill Clinton got personal: He detailed how Hillary left him speechless and how he proposed two times before she said yes the third.

But most of his speech was focused on Clinton’s accomplishments as a public servant.

Bill Clinton painted a portrait of Hillary Clinton as a fighter who works relentlessly to make the world better.

“You could drop her in any trouble spot, pick one, come back in a month and somehow … she will have made it better,” Clinton said. “That is just who she is.”

Clinton closed by contrasting the woman he knows — the “real” Hillary Clinton — with the cartoon character he accused the Republicans of running against her.

The night did include echoes of the discontent that plagued the first night of the convention. After Clinton was officially nominated, some Sanders supporters staged a walkout and a silent sit-in to protest what they say is a rigged system.

But the proceedings continued and Hillary Clinton made an appearance on the big screen at the end of the night.

“I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling tonight,” Hillary Clinton said. And then she turned her attention to any little girls who had stayed up to watch.

“I may become the first woman president but one of you is next,” she said.

Update at 11:18 p.m. ET. Hillary Clinton Makes An Appearance:

The night ended with a dramatic nod to history being made Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys played “Superwoman” as photographs of all previous 44 presidents were shown on-screen.

After President Obama was shown, Hillary Clinton appeared via a live feed from New York.

“I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling tonight,” Clinton said. And then she turned her attention to any little girls who had stayed up to watch. “I may become the first woman president but one of you is next,” she said.

At the end of the night, Hillary Clinton addresses the convention via live feed from New York..... "I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling tonight," Clinton said. And then she turned her attention to any little girls who had stayed up to watch. "I may become the first woman president but one of you is next," she said.
At the end of the night, Hillary Clinton addresses the convention via live feed from New York….. “I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling tonight,” Clinton said. And then she turned her attention to any little girls who had stayed up to watch. “I may become the first woman president but one of you is next,” she said.

Update at 10:54 p.m. ET. Bill Clinton Gets Personal:

Former President Bill Clinton delivered a speech long on biographical detail.

Clinton spoke about his wife’s journey — from a young woman with “thick blond hair and big glasses” he met in law school to her experiences as a mother and a senator and a secretary of state.

Sometimes he got personal: He detailed how she left him speechless and how he proposed two times before she said yes the third. But most of the speech was based on Clinton’s accomplishments as a public servant.

Bill Clinton painted a portrait of Hillary Clinton as a fighter who works relentlessly to make the world better.

“She’s the best darn change-maker I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Bill Clinton said.

Update at 10:12 p.m. ET. Bill Clinton Takes The Stage:

Hillary Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, opened his speech with this line: “In the spring of 1971, I met a girl.”

A teleprompter shows the beginning of Bill Clinton’s speech. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The former president then launched into a story of how he met Hillary Clinton, how he wooed her and asked her to marry him.

Update at 10:04 p.m. ET. Hillary Clinton, The Fighter:

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright really wrapped up what has been the theme of the night: Hillary Clinton is a fighter. She has fought for New York after Sept. 11, speakers said, for universal health care, for civil rights and for the little guy.

Albright said that when she first came to the United States, Harry Truman was her first American president.

“Let’s [elect] someone with Truman’s fighting spirit — Hillary Clinton,” Albright said.

Update at 9:39 p.m. ET. Dean Screams:

Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, delivered a very formal speech in which he detailed the policy differences between Clinton and Trump

“Donald Trump will take us back to a time when insurance companies can deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition, or he will take you back to a time where insurance can charge you more just because you were a woman,” he said. “And what is he going to replace this with? Quote — ‘Something so much better. Yuge,’ no doubt. That’s it. That’s the whole plan right there. Six-word plan for health care.”

Dean said that Clinton would “finish the job” on health care.

But Dean finally got the crowd excited when he did what he is known for: He screamed.

“This race is going to be won on the ground: in Colorado, and Iowa, and North Carolina, and Michigan, and Florida, and Ohio, and Pennsylvania,” he screamed. “And then we’re going to the White House.”

Update at 9:10 p.m. ET. ‘The Arc We Are On’:

We’re catching up a bit with a speech delivered by former Attorney General Eric Holder, who made the case for a president who can deal with complicated problems with nuance.

“At a time when the bonds between law enforcement and communities of color have frayed — when assassins target police in heinous attacks, and peaceful citizens have to question whether black lives truly matter, and they do, we need a president who understands the reality that I saw in my travels across our country as our nation’s 82nd attorney general,” Holder said.

"This election is about much more than politics," former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said.  Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images  hide caption toggle caption  Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
“This election is about much more than politics,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
 

Hillary Clinton, Holder said, will be the candidate who can end the mass incarceration of black men and who will take on what he called “systemic racism.”

“This election is about much more than politics,” Holder said. “It’s about the arc we are on, as a nation; the composition of our character, as a people; and the ideals — of equality, opportunity and justice — that have always made America great.”

Update at 8:49 p.m. ET. ‘Sure Took Y’all Long Enough’:

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, took on Donald Trump by saying that women would be his undoing come November.

“We’re going to be the reason you’re not elected,” Richards said.

And Richards conjured up the women who came before her.

Her great-grandmother grew up at time when women could not vote. But she saw her daughter, the late Ann Richards, be elected Texas governor.

“Tonight, we are closer than ever to putting a woman in the White House,” she said. “And I can almost hear Mom saying, ‘Well, it sure took y’all long enough.’ ”

Update at 8:36 p.m. ET. ‘Hillary Will Say Our Children’s Names’

With a darkened arena and to a standing ovation, nine mothers whose children died in high-profile incidents, many involving police officers, came onstage.

They all wore red flowers on their lapels and stood in a semicircle.

Geneva Reed-Veal (second from right) speaks about her support for Hillary Clinton and about her daughter, Sandra Bland, who was found dead in her jail cell last summer.  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images  hide caption toggle caption  Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Geneva Reed-Veal (second from right) speaks about her support for Hillary Clinton and about her daughter, Sandra Bland, who was found dead in her jail cell last summer. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
 

“I am here with Hillary Clinton because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children’s name,” Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, said.

Lucia McBath, Jordan Davis’ mother, said that Clinton isn’t “afraid to say that black lives matter.”

“She isn’t afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn’t build walls around her heart,” McBath said.

“This isn’t about being politically correct,” Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, said in reference to Donald Trump. “This is about saving our children.”

Update at 8:17 p.m. ET. Blue Lives And Black Lives:

In a tone that is markedly different from the law-and-order one set at the Republican National Convention, Pittsburgh Chief of Police Cameron McLay made a case for dialogue.

He referenced both the killings of police and the killing of black men by police officers.

“We can support our police officers while at the same time making criminal justice reforms,” he said. “We can do both and we will do both.”

Update at 8:13 p.m. ET. A Lighter Moment:

Actress Elizabeth Banks provided the light moment of the evening, when she walked onstage the same way that Donald Trump did at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland — backlit and to the sound of Queen’s “We Are the Champions”.

Update at 8:07 p.m. ET. Historical Context:

Much like first lady Michelle Obama did yesterday, Donna Brazile, the incoming interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, put this election and Clinton into historical context.

“My friends, as a child, I sat in the back of the bus; I was told, time and time again, that God’s potential did not exist in people like me,” she said. “I’ve spent my life fighting to change that. And from the first day when I met Hillary Clinton, I’ve known that she’s someone who cares just as much and will fight just as hard for children.”

 

Hillary’s ‘Black Lives’ Generation Gap

Sybrina Fulton, Geneva Reed-Veal, Lucy McBath, Gwen Carr, Cleopatra Pendleton, Maria Hamilton, Lezley McSpadden and Wanda Johnson from Mothers of the Movement speak during the second day of the convention. | AP Photo Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/hillary-clinton-black-lives-matter-generation-gap-214106#ixzz4Fb9MXWCx  Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook
Sybrina Fulton, Geneva Reed-Veal, Lucy McBath, Gwen Carr, Cleopatra Pendleton, Maria Hamilton, Lezley McSpadden and Wanda Johnson from Mothers of the Movement speak during the second day of the convention. | AP Photo

As the mothers who have lost sons to police spoke on stage, big red flowers pinned to their chests, Evette Simmons, a delegate from Florida and a black woman, sat watching. “What she’s done by bringing these women together,” she trailed off into an emotional pause. “It’s helping us realize that it’s realize that it’s real life. People are hurting, people’s lives matter.” This, she added, “was faith in action,” and she was grateful to see those mothers on a national stage. “I’ve met Hillary Clinton before and I see the love that comes through her,” she said. She had no doubt about her sincerity.

Up in the stands, young people in “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts stood and chanted with the crowd: Black lives matter! And they were less sure about Hillary.

“It was very emotional for me,” said one of them, a young black woman named Talia Herron said. She was a delegate from Missouri. She was inspired by the mothers, but she had been a Bernie supporter. “I’m not a big fan of Hillary’s, but I respect that she is moving to provide justice for young black men and minorities. Bernie Sanders was better at that, though. He was more transparent about it, and he didn’t have a negative past.” She meant the Clinton administration’s support for the 1994 crime bill.

With Donald Trump relying so heavily on drumming up the aggrieved white vote, the conventional political wisdom has been that Clinton will win because she has the black, female, and minority vote locked up. But on the convention floor, this looks a little more difficult. The generational gap, at least among the black delegates here, is still strong, with the older generation supporting Clinton and the younger generation breaking for Bernie, and only reluctantly supporting her. “I think Hillary Clinton is not necessarily my ideal candidate but she’s better than Donald Trump,” said Brandon Baker, a young Missouri delegate in a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. “That’s all I have to go on right now.”

“When I was their age, I was very influenced by what felt good,” said Cozzie Watkins, a 65-year-old Clinton delegate from North Carolina. As the mother of a black man, watching the Mothers of the Movement speak was painful for her. She knows she could end up in their position at any point. And she was glad that they brought their message to the Convention, and, unlike the younger cohort, she didn’t care whether it was political or sincere. “Of course it’s political,” she said. “It has to be political because of the entities involved.” The fact of their being here was proof enough of sincerity and authenticity on Clinton’s behalf. “Why would she bother with this? There are many other issues that are less controversial, less emotional that she could take on.” She wasn’t worried about the young black voters. “They haven’t been around long enough for Vietnam, for the fight for integration. But that’s okay. This may be their entry into politics,” she said of the young black Bernie supporters and Black Lives Matter. “It takes friction to bring you in to politics, and this generation”—a generation that came of age with a black president—“didn’t have an issue to bring them out. My son had a car and a cell phone at 15. What were his issues?”

These older women say that they’re going to work to channel the younger generation’s energy and bring into the fold of the Democratic Party, for the election and beyond. “They’re young, they’re not very familiar with this process,” says Gilda Cobbhunter, a South Carolina super delegate who supported Clinton. “And when you’re so passionate about something, so emotional, it tends to cloud your view of things. But we have a lot of time until November. I hope the Bernie supporters will be allowed some time to deal, and we have to work to bring them around. We can’t let it fester.”

Maryland State Senator and Democratic candidate for mayor of Baltimore echoed that sentiment. On one hand, she said, the Democratic party “has been clear before that they are concerned about this issue and it’s the first time they’ve indicated interest in the issue,” but she acknowledged the work that needed to be done to win over the younger generation of African-Americans, the same way their parents and grandparents had been won over. “You can’t take any vote for granted,” Pugh said. “Both Bill and Hillary reached out to the black community. No one can say that everything was done perfectly. You have so many black men that are incarcerated and you have to lay that at the feet of every elected official. And we all have a responsibility to change that. The conversation needed to be ignited.” (As a female politician, however, she feels Hillary Clinton suffers from a disadvantage with voters: “I think we are harder on women politically than we are on men.”)

Claudette Williams, a Clinton delegate and a black councilwoman from Pennsylvania, says her daughter is a Bernie supporter. “I’m the chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party, and I’m a Hillary supporter, and I have a Bernie supporter in my house!” But she is working to change that, at least in her house. “She likes the originality of Bernie, and she thinks of Clinton as an old-timer. So I tell her, that’s fine, but you need to look at the issues.” Her daughter, she says, has a hard time trusting Clinton, which Williams blames “on the media narrative.” “And with Bernie being the way he is, he seems like he has a newer idea,” she explained. “And when you’re young, you want answers. We’re more settled, but their generation is more assertive than we were.”

Her friend from the Army, a black woman and the wife of a black police officer in Baton Rouge, Minerva Dunn, agreed. (“I am the mother of two black sons and the wife of a black police officer in Baton Rouge, so imagine the chaos in my head,” she said, getting emotional.) Her 21-year-old son is now also serving in the Army, where he hears a lot of talk about Benghazi, which leads him to be “shaky on Hillary.” Dunn, who couldn’t stay in her seat during Bill Clinton’s speech, isn’t giving up. “It has to be a team effort,” Dunn says. “We need to combine our ideas. We need to get together small groups to talk to them, to hear what’s on their minds.”

Watkins, the Clinton delegate from North Carolina, approves of the young generation’s skepticism, despite her own personal support for Clinton. “It’s good. It’s good that they’re asking questions, it’s good that they don’t just accept was she says,” Watkins says. “It’s good that she has to fight for their vote.”

Culled from Politico Magazine – By Julia Ioffe

 

Hillary Clinton secures historic nomination as Bernie Sanders steps aside

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton officially received the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency Tuesday evening.

Clinton is now the first woman to become the presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party.

Vermont’s delegation voted last, joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,” Sanders said, as the crowd erupted into cheers and waved multicolored “Hillary” signs. A rendition of the song “Happy” began playing as delegates swayed.

The roll call went smoothly and with few signs of protest, as the party appeared to unify after a fractious start to the convention Monday.

Delegates and speakers backing Clinton stressed the historic nature of her nomination. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right, announced Clinton’s name for nomination “on behalf of all the women who have broken down barriers for others.”

“The Democratic Party nominated and elected the first person of color to have ever served in the White House,” said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who seconded Clinton’s nomination. “Tonight, we will shatter that glass ceiling again.”

Clinton’s childhood friend Betsy Ebeling spoke as she cast Illinois’ votes for Clinton, calling it a “historic, wonderful day.”

“This one’s for you, Hill,” she said.

Standing with the Vermont delegation Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., waves after asking that the delegates make Hillary Clinton the unanimous choice for President of the Untied States during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Tuesday, July 26, 2016. (Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP)
Standing with the Vermont delegation Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., waves after asking that the delegates make Hillary Clinton the unanimous choice for President of the Untied States during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , Tuesday, July 26, 2016. (Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP)

Jerry Emmett, a 102-year-old delegate from Arizona who was born before women had the right to vote in this country, announced her state’s votes for Clinton as the crowd cheered.

There were a few signs of protest from Sanders supporters, but far less than Monday, when they interrupted speakers with boos and chants. A few Sanders delegates walked out ahead of the final roll call, and a delegate held up a sign that said “Rigged,” as Nevada cast its votes.

In nominating speeches, Sanders supporters urged his delegates to keep his movement going. “To my brothers and sisters who have been a part of this historic campaign, I urge you to stay engaged, stay active, stay fired up,” said Paul Feeney, a Sanders supporter who leads the IBEW union in New York. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who nominated Sanders, said the movement was about “love” and would continue on.

In an emotional speech, Sanders’ brother, Larry Sanders, also teared up as he placed his vote in for his brother from the Democrats abroad delegation. Sanders appeared to also tear up as his brother said their parents would be proud of him.

How Michelle Obama took on Trump: ‘Don’t Let Anyone Ever Tell You That This Country Isn’t Great’

"We don't stoop to their level. Our motto is: 'When they go low, we go high,' " she said.
“We don’t stoop to their level. Our motto is: ‘When they go low, we go high,’ ” she said.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivered an unusually personal speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, expressing her enthusiastic support for former First Lady Hillary Clinton while deriding Republican candidate Donald Trump without ever uttering his name.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great,” she said in a pointed reference to Trump’s campaign slogan. “This, right now, is the greatest country on earth.”

Obama also got personal during the speech, speaking candidly about daughters Malia and Sasha, and how she and the president have coached them to remain above the fray while facing criticism.

“We don’t stoop to their level. Our motto is: ‘When they go low, we go high,’ ” she said.

The First Lady also recalled the first morning she sent Sasha and Malia off to school with armed Secret Service agents. Malia was just 10 – and Sasha only 7.

“I saw their little faces pressed up against the window and all I could think was, ‘What have we done?'” Obama said, adding that it struck her in that moment that “How well we managed this experience could truly make or break them.”

Pointedly, but without ever speaking the name Donald Trump, Obama went on to frame the lessons she and the president imparted to their girls around the rhetoric of Trump.

“We urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith,” she said. “We insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country.”

Just after the speech, the president praised his wife on Twitter.

“Incredible speech by an incredible woman. Couldn’t be more proud & our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS. I love you, Michelle.”

The First Lady also spoke about the attributes that qualify Clinton for the presidency.

“What I admire most about Hillary is she never buckled over pressure. Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. When I think of the kind of president I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want – the proven strength to persevere,” she said.

“She knows the issues are not black and white, cannot be boiled down the 140 characters,” she added.

A DNC speaker twice before – both times in support of husband Barack Obama – the First Lady made a case for why Americans should elect its first female president after taking the stage following a video about herself produced by J.J. Abrams .

Obama’s speech also comes just one week after Melania Trump’s alleged plagiarism scandal. The Slovenian-born former model spoke at the Republican National Convention last week in support of husband Donald Trump and raised concerns of plagiarism once similarities were spotted between her speech and the one Obama delivered at the 2008 DNC.

The Trump campaign denied the allegations and refused the resignation of the speechwriter, Meredith McIver, who admitted part of the speech was taken from the First Lady.

Obama’s speech also comes in the midst of fallout from an email leak that resulted in the resignation of Convention chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, after emails indicated she actively tried to undermine the Bernie Sanders campaign during the primary process.

Bernie Sanders: ‘Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president’

PHILADELPHIA — The man himself tried to soothe the “Bern” at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night.

Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered a rousing speech in which he implored the rebellious band of political revolutionaries who backed his presidential campaign to line up behind his former primary rival, Hillary Clinton.

After several minutes of roaring applause, Sanders addressed the elephant in the room. Many of his supporters insist they will refuse to back Clinton, the party’s presumptive nominee. Throughout the primary, Sanders and his team alleged that the Democratic National Committee was biased in favor of Clinton. The leak of emails over the weekend — which showed that DNC staffers were working to undermine Sanders’ bid for the presidency — fueled protests at the convention that even led to boos for Sanders himself earlier in the day. In his speech, Sanders acknowledged the anger many of his supporters feel.

“I understand that many people here in this convention hall and around the country are disappointed about the final results of the nominating process. I think it’s fair to say that no one is more disappointed than I am,” Sanders said.

“But to all of our supporters here and around the country, I hope you take enormous pride in the historic accomplishments we have achieved together. My friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America, and that revolution, our revolution, continues,” he continued.

Sanders endorsed Clinton on July 12, but he never formally suspended his campaign. Though he urged his supporters not to protest at the convention, in his speech, Sanders said he looked forward to seeing delegates vote for him during the roll call on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Sanders unequivocally urged his backers to vote for Clinton in November rather than Republican nominee Donald Trump, whom he framed as divisive.

“We need leadership which brings our people together and makes us stronger, not leadership which insults Latinos and Mexicans, insults Muslims, and women, African-Americans, and veterans, and Sikhs to divide us up,” Sanders said. “By these measures, any objective observer will conclude that, based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States.”

Sanders didn’t just paint Clinton as preferable to Trump. He also touted her progressive credentials, including her support for increasing the minimum wage, immigration reform and Supreme Court justices who would support abortion and LGBT rights. Sanders also further noted the concessions that he and his team managed to win in the Democratic Party platform, which he framed as a “coming together” between the two campaigns.

“Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding president, and I am proud to stand with her here tonight,” Sanders said.

Michelle Obama Was the Real Star of the Democratic Convention’s First Night

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

First Lady Michelle Obama captivated the crowd on night one of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, delivering a deeply personal speech in support of her party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton.

The first night of the Democratic National Convention was fraught with testiness—a roar of boos swelled in the arena of Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center shortly after the opening gavel was struck. Just outside, gatherers chanted well into the night protesting in favor of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But for 15 minutes, the rifts that had been exposed throughout the day appeared to have mended. Everyone in the crowd, despite their differences, was enthralled by the First Lady.

At one point, Obama noted that it had been eight years since she took the stage at the Democratic convention to persuade the crowd that her husband was the right candidate to lead the American people. Words from that speech were cribbed by Melania Trump in her speech at the Republican convention this year.

On Monday, Obama said that in the time since the Obamas moved into the White House, her biggest concern was and continues to be the welfare of her daughters and all of America’s children. How well they managed the experience, she said, would affect them forever.

“With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us,” she said, noting that while the Obamas have lived in the White House she’s had to explain why her husband’s faith and citizenship were being questioned and other “hateful language” from public officials. It went without mentioning that many of those comments came from the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, whose name went unmentioned in her speech.

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.”

In fact, as much as the speech was soundly about Clinton’s work as a children’s rights advocate, Senator, and Secretary of State, it was a fierce rebuke of everything Democrats say Donald Trump represents. It included subtle jabs at “thin-skinned” leaders with tendencies to “lash out.”

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that America isn’t great,” Obama said, citing Trump’s campaign slogan. “That somehow we need to make it great again because this right now is the greatest country on earth.”

The speech was short, but Michelle Obama’s message was clear. The leader she believes will take the country down the right path is undoubtedly Hillary Clinton. And the boost in enthusiasm the convention saw when Obama entered and exited Monday’s stage could prove beneficial on the campaign trail.

“This November when we go to the polls, that is what we are deciding … who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives,” Obama said. “There is only one person who I trust with that responsibility.”

Report: Trump gets backing from Obama’s half-brother

President Barack Obama’s half-brother, Malik Obama says he’s voting for Donald Trump — fed up with his relative’s politics and encouraged by the Republican nominee’s “fresh and new” approach, the New York Post reports Sunday. 
“I like Donald Trump because he speaks from the heart,” Kenyan-born Malik Obama, tells the Post. “‘Make America Great Again’ is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.”

Malik Obama told the Post he’s coming to the United States to vote in November; he’s registered as a Democrat in Maryland, where he used to live and work, the Post notes.
“Mr. Trump is providing something new and something fresh,” he declared.
Malik Barama and his younger half-brother share a father, Barack Obama Sr., who left Kenya in 1959 when Malik was a year old and enrolled at the University of Hawaii, where he met and married the president’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham.
Malik Obama tells the Post his “deep disappointment” with his half-brother came when FBI Director James Comey recommended not prosecuting Hillary Clinton despite her “reckless” handling of classified data on a private email server.

File photo: Barack & Malik Obama in Oval Office
File photo: Barack & Malik Obama in Oval Office

“She should have known better as the custodian of classified information,” he said. He’s also angry with the Democratic Party’s support of same-sex marriage.

“I feel like a Republican now because they don’t stand for same-sex marriage, and that appeals to me,” he tells the Post, which notes the Kenyan made headlines in 2011 when he married his third wife, who was still in her teens.
The president’s relative ran and lost a race for governor in the southwestern Kenyan county of Siaya in 2013, and tells the Post: “I don’t think politics is my thing.”

“Honestly, I’ll be happy when my brother is out of office, and I will finally be out of the limelight and be able to live like a human being,” he said.

DNC chair Wasserman Schultz leaving under fire

 Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, speaks during a campaign event for Hillary Clinton on Saturday, July 23, 2016, in Miami.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, speaks during a campaign event for Hillary Clinton on Saturday, July 23, 2016, in Miami.

PHILADELPHIA — Debbie Wasserman Schultz is resigning under pressure as Democratic Party chairwoman, a stunning leadership shakeup as party officials gather in Philadelphia to nominate Hillary Clinton.

Wasserman Schultz’s announcement Sunday follows a firestorm over hacked emails suggesting the Democratic National Committee favored Clinton during the primary, despite pledging neutrality. The leaked emails prompted primary runner-up Bernie Sanders to call for Wasserman Schultz’s immediate resignation.

In a statement, Wasserman Schultz said she will step down at the end of the four-day convention. She said she plans to formally open and close the convention, as well as address delegates.

Her statement does not address the email controversy.

Wasserman Schultz’s swift ouster underscores party leaders’ desire to avoid convention confrontations with Sanders’ loyal supporters. The chairwoman has been a lightning rod for criticism throughout the presidential campaign, with Sanders repeatedly accusing the DNC of backing Clinton.

Sanders said the 19,000 emails published by the website Wikileaks appeared to confirm his suspicions.

In one leaked email, a DNC official wondered whether Sanders’ religious beliefs could be used against him, questioning whether the candidate may be an atheist.

Sanders pressed for Wasserman Schultz to quit as chairwoman immediately. He also suggested that Clinton’s choice of running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, was a disappointment and that he would have preferred Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of liberals.

“His political views are not my political views. He is more conservative than I am. Would I have preferred to see somebody like an Elizabeth Warren selected by Secretary Clinton? Yes, I would have,” Sanders told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The Clinton team worked to portray their party’s convention in a different light from the just concluded Republican gathering in Cleveland, where Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination but party divisions flared when his chief rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, refused to endorse the billionaire businessman.

Trump cast himself as the law-and-order candidate in a nation suffering under crime and hobbled by immigration, as the GOP convention stuck to a gloom-and-doom theme. Democrats said they wanted to convey a message of optimism and improving the lives of all Americans.

But party disunity also seems to be a factor in Philadelphia, given Sanders’ demands for a new leader and general unhappiness among his many supporters about how the nomination process unfolded.

Norman Solomon, a delegate who supports Bernie Sanders, says there is talk among Sanders’ delegates of walking out during Kaine’s acceptance speech or turning their backs as a show of protest.

Solomon said he believes a “vast majority” of Sanders delegates support these kinds of protests to express their dismay. Sanders’ supporters say they are concerned that Kaine is not progressive enough.

Dan O’Neal, 68, is a retired school teacher and delegate from Arizona, said Wasserman Schultz has to be censured.

“We knew they were stacking the deck against Bernie from the get-go, but this type of stuff coming out is outrageous,” he said. “It proves our point that they’ve tried to marginalize him and make it as difficult as possible.”

Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, agreed, saying Sanders’ supporters “have a lot to complain about.”

“The emails have proven the system was rigged from the start,” Manafort told “Fox News Sunday.”

Clinton’s campaign manager, Robby Mook, tried to shift blame away from DNC officials to “Russian state actors” who, he said, may have hacked into DNC computers “for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” the Republican presidential nominee.

How the emails were stolen hasn’t been confirmed.

“It was concerning last week that Donald Trump changed the Republican platform to become what some experts would regard as pro-Russian,” Mook said.

Clinton is within just days of her long-held ambition to become the party’s official presidential nominee.

After the DNC released a slightly trimmed list of superdelegates — those are the party officials who can back any candidate — it now takes 2,382 delegates to formally clinch the nomination. Clinton has 2,814 when including superdelegates, according to an Associated Press count. Sanders has 1,893.

Sanders has endorsed Clinton, but his delegates are pushing for a state-by-state tally. The state-by-state roll call is scheduled for Tuesday.

Also Sunday, Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, were back at their longtime church in Richmond, Virginia, a day after he made his campaign debut with Clinton.

Kaine, a former choir member at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, sang a solo during Communion. He later told reporters outside the church: “We needed some prayers today and we got some prayers, and we got some support and it really feels good.”

___

Associated Press writers Chad Day and Hope Yen in Washington, Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, and Alex Sanz in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

A beaming Hillary Clinton introduces Tim Kaine in Miami

MIAMI — Sen. Tim Kaine called Hillary Clinton his soulmate on Saturday, in his first appearance as her vice presidential pick in front of a crowd of 5,000 at Florida International University.

And Kaine, who was seen as the safe and more centrist choice for Clinton, showed that even though he is self-admittedly “boring,” he is a skilled and natural campaigner who can reach out to minority voters.

The presumptive Democratic nominee introduced Kaine as “everything Donald Trump and Mike Pence are not” and a “progressive who likes to get things done,” before taking a seat behind him and beaming as he introduced himself to the crowd.

“For many of you, this is the first time you’ve ever heard my name,” Kaine said. “But that’s OK because I’m excited for us to get to know each other.”

Kaine sketched out his personal history — helping his dad in a steel shop in Kansas, marrying his wife Anne Holton (“the best decision of my life”), working in Honduras with Jesuit missionaries, and becoming a civil rights lawyer fighting housing discrimination. He leaned into his considerable political experience, even in a year when antiestablishment feelings are strong, telling the crowd that he’s one of only 20 people in history who have served as a senator, mayor and governor.

With a nod toward to the local Miami community, Kaine showcased his fluent Spanish at the rally, saying he and Clinton were “compañeros de alma,” or soulmates, and describing his core values picked up during a year as a missionary in Honduras as fe, familia and trabajo (faith, family and work). He also explicitly reached out to the immigrants in the crowd, asking anyone who became a naturalized U.S. citizen to raise their hand. “Thanks for choosing us!” he said. Kaine told the crowd that he and Clinton would work to get immigration reform passed if elected.

Kaine used his family history to draw a contrast with Trump. He mentioned that his son, Nat, was in the audience and about to deploy in three days to Europe with the Marines. He said having a son in the armed services underscored the importance of this election. “They deserve a commander in chief with experience and the temperament to lead,” he said.

Though Kaine is not an attack dog, he sounded a feisty note when describing how he had won statewide election in Virginia despite the National Rifle Association’s opposing him.

“They’ve campaigned against me in every statewide race I’ve ever run, but I’ve never lost an election,” he said. “That’s just like an extra cup of coffee to me, folks! It just gets me more excited. I’m 8-0, and I’m not about to let that change.”

A Clinton aide said the former secretary of state chose Kaine because of some advice her campaign chair John Podesta gave: to pick someone whom you are happy to see walking in the room. The event ran nearly an hour late, in part because Kaine and Clinton got carried away chatting with each other. The two appeared to get along, and Kaine’s folksy and genuine aura may help Clinton, who is viewed by some as robotic and untrustworthy.

Clinton’s decision to pick Kaine instead of a more liberal politician, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, has disappointed some in her party who wanted a sign from Clinton that she would embrace the agenda of her vanquished primary rival, Bernie Sanders. The leak this week of thousands of Democratic National Committee emails, which suggested that staffers worked against Sanders in the primary, will probably stoke that discontent ahead of next week’s convention in Philadelphia.

A few protesters briefly interrupted the Kaine event shouting “DNC leaks!” before they were ejected.

Republicans are attempting to paint Kaine as a centrist choice that betrays the left’s liberal base. RNC consultant Sean Spicer called them the most “establishment” ticket in history, and RNC Chair Reince Priebus said Kaine does “nothing” to unify the party.

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