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August 28, 2008 Bill Clinton was greeted by
an extended round of applause as he walked on
stage to deliver his speech that lasted nearly
three minutes. Watch as Clinton tries to calm
down the enthusiastic crowd.
I am honored to be here tonight to support
Barack Obama. And to warm up the crowd for Joe
Biden, though as you'll soon see, he doesn't
need any help from me. I love Joe Biden, and
America will too.
What a year we Democrats have had. The
primary began with an all-star line up and
came down to two remarkable Americans locked
in a hard fought contest to the very end. The
campaign generated so much heat it increased
global warming.
In the end, my candidate didn't win. But
I'm very proud of the campaign she ran: she
never quit on the people she stood up for, on
the changes she pushed for, on the future she
wants for all our children. And I'm grateful
for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell
Americans about the person we know and love.
I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak
in the wake of her magnificent address last
night. But I'll do my best.
Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that
she'll do everything she can to elect Barack
Obama.
That makes two of us.
Actually that makes 18 million of us -
because, like Hillary, I want all of you who
supported her to vote for Barack Obama in
November.
Here's why.
Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The
American Dream is under siege at home, and
America's leadership in the world has been
weakened.
Middle class and low-income Americans are
hurting, with incomes declining; job losses,
poverty and inequality rising; mortgage
foreclosures and credit card debt increasing;
health care coverage disappearing; and a big
spike in the cost of food, utilities, and
gasoline.
Our position in the world has been weakened
by too much unilateralism and too little
cooperation; a perilous dependence on imported
oil; a refusal to lead on global warming; a
growing indebtedness and a dependence on
foreign lenders; a severely burdened military;
a backsliding on global non-proliferation and
arms control agreements; and a failure to
consistently use the power of diplomacy, from
the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to
Central and Eastern Europe.
Clearly, the job of the next President is
to rebuild the American Dream and restore
America's standing in the world.
Everything I learned in my eight years as
President and in the work I've done since, in
America and across the globe, has convinced me
that Barack Obama is the man for this job.
He has a remarkable ability to inspire
people, to raise our hopes and rally us to
high purpose. He has the intelligence and
curiosity every successful President needs.
His policies on the economy, taxes, health
care and energy are far superior to the
Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear
grasp of our foreign policy and national
security challenges, and a firm commitment to
repair our badly strained military. His family
heritage and life experiences have given him a
unique capacity to lead our increasingly
diverse nation and to restore our leadership
in an ever more interdependent world. The
long, hard primary tested and strengthened
him. And in his first presidential decision,
the selection of a running mate, he hit it out
of the park.
With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom,
supporting Barack Obama's proven
understanding, insight, and good instincts,
America will have the national security
leadership we need.
Barack Obama is ready to lead America and
restore American leadership in the world.
Ready to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States. Barack
Obama is ready to be President of the United
States.
He will work for an America with more
partners and fewer adversaries. He will
rebuild our frayed alliances and revitalize
the international institutions which help to
share the costs of the world's problems and to
leverage our power and influence. He will put
us back in the forefront of the world's fight
to reduce nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons and to stop global warming. He will
continue and enhance our nation's global
leadership in an area in which I am deeply
involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and
malaria, including a renewal of the battle
against HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose
diplomacy first and military force as a last
resort. But in a world troubled by terror; by
trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by
human rights abuses; by other threats to our
security, our interests, and our values, when
he cannot convert adversaries into partners,
he will stand up to them.
Barack Obama also will not allow the
world's problems to obscure its opportunities.
Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike,
hardworking people need good jobs; secure,
affordable healthcare, food, and energy;
quality education for their children; and
economically beneficial ways to fight global
warming. These challenges cry out for American
ideas and American innovation. When Barack
Obama unleashes them, America will save lives,
win new allies, open new markets, and create
new jobs for our people.
Most important, Barack Obama knows that
America cannot be strong abroad unless we are
strong at home. People the world over have
always been more impressed by the power of our
example than by the example of our power.
Look at the example the Republicans have
set: American workers have given us
consistently rising productivity. They've
worked harder and produced more. What did they
get in return? Declining wages, less than ¼ as
many new jobs as in the previous eight years,
smaller health care and pension benefits,
rising poverty and the biggest increase in
income inequality since the 1920s. American
families by the millions are struggling with
soaring health care costs and declining
coverage. I will never forget the parents of
children with autism and other severe
conditions who told me on the campaign trail
that they couldn't afford health care and
couldn't qualify their kids for Medicaid
unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are
these the family values the Republicans are so
proud of? What about the military families
pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented
multiple deployments? What about the assault
on science and the defense of torture? What
about the war on unions and the unlimited
favors for the well connected? What about
Katrina and cronyism?
America can do better than that. And Barack
Obama will.
But first we have to elect him.
The choice is clear. The Republicans will
nominate a good man who served our country
heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam.
He loves our country every bit as much as we
all do. As a Senator, he has shown his
independence on several issues. But on the two
great questions of this election, how to
rebuild the American Dream and how to restore
America's leadership in the world, he still
embraces the extreme philosophy which has
defined his party for more than 25 years, a
philosophy we never had a real chance to see
in action until 2001, when the Republicans
finally gained control of both the White House
and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to
America if the policies they had talked about
for decades were implemented.
They took us from record surpluses to an
exploding national debt; from over 22 million
new jobs down to 5 million; from an increase
in working family incomes of $7,500 to a
decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8
million Americans moving out of poverty to
more than 5 and a half million falling into
poverty - and millions more losing their
health insurance.
Now, in spite of all the evidence, their
candidate is promising more of the same: More
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that
will swell the deficit, increase inequality,
and weaken the economy. More band-aids for
health care that will enrich insurance
companies, impoverish families and increase
the number of uninsured. More going it alone
in the world, instead of building the shared
responsibilities and shared opportunities
necessary to advance our security and restore
our influence.
They actually want us to reward them for
the last eight years by giving them four more.
Let's send them a message that will echo from
the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no
thanks. In this case, the third time is not
the charm.
My fellow Democrats, sixteen years ago, you
gave me the profound honor to lead our party
to victory and to lead our nation to a new era
of peace and broadly shared prosperity.
Together, we prevailed in a campaign in
which the Republicans said I was too young and
too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief.
Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992,
because we were on the right side of history.
And it won't work in 2008, because Barack
Obama is on the right side of history.
His life is a 21st Century incarnation of
the American Dream. His achievements are proof
of our continuing progress toward the "more
perfect union" of our founders' dreams. The
values of freedom and equal opportunity which
have given him his historic chance will drive
him as president to give all Americans,
regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual
orientation or disability, their chance to
build a decent life, and to show our humanity,
as well as our strength, to the world.
We see that humanity, that strength, and
our future in Barack and Michelle Obama and
their beautiful children. We see them
reinforced by the partnership with Joe Biden,
his wife Jill, a dedicated teacher, and their
family.
Barack Obama will lead us away from
division and fear of the last eight years back
to unity and hope. If, like me, you still
believe America must always be a place called
Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in
making Senator Barack Obama the next President
of the United... |
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