BILL CLINTON NOMINATES OBAMA
Charlotte, North Carolina (JFK+50) Barack Obama was nominated for a 2nd term as the 44th President of the United States last night by both the 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton*, and by an overwhelming majority of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention meeting here in Charlotte.
The former president, who was inspired as a teenager to enter in a career of public service after shaking hands with President Kennedy, said:
"I want to nominate a man who ran for president to change the course of an already weak economy (but) just 6 weeks before his election, saw it suffer the biggest collapse since the Great Depression."
Bill Clinton continued...
"We Democrats...think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities...for poor folks to work their way into it...with business and government...working together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity.
You see we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'"
Mr. Clinton, who was frequently interrupted with applause, went on to say that it would have been impossible for him to have the same hatred of Republican presidents the way some right wing Republicans seem to hate President Obama.
He cited President Eisenhower's sending federal troops to his home state of Arkansas to enforce integration and for building the interstate highway system.
He also talked about his cooperation with both President Reagan and George H.W. Bush on the issues of welfare reform and national education.
Mr. Clinton advised:
"What works in the real world is co-operation not constant conflict."
And he added that one of the main reasons Mr. Obama should be re-elected is because...
"he is still committed to constructive cooperation."
The former president satirized the Republican argument this way...
"We (Republicans) left (Obama) a total mess. He hasn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in."
He said he likes the case for Obama's reelection much better:
"He put a floor under the crash and began the...hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for a...more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs..."
The 42nd President concluded with these words:
"I love our country so much. And I know we're coming back. For more than 200 years, through every major crisis, we've always come back...a little stronger and a little better."
*William Jefferson Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1946. He graduated from Georgetown University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.
He served as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas before being elected President of the United States in 1992.
Clinton was re-elected in 1996. Although impeachment charges were brought against him, he was found not guilty and completed his 2nd term.
President Clinton in Knoxville
Photo by John White (1996)
Charlotte, North Carolina (JFK+50) Barack Obama was nominated for a 2nd term as the 44th President of the United States last night by both the 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton*, and by an overwhelming majority of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention meeting here in Charlotte.
The former president, who was inspired as a teenager to enter in a career of public service after shaking hands with President Kennedy, said:
"I want to nominate a man who ran for president to change the course of an already weak economy (but) just 6 weeks before his election, saw it suffer the biggest collapse since the Great Depression."
Bill Clinton continued...
"We Democrats...think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities...for poor folks to work their way into it...with business and government...working together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity.
You see we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'"
Mr. Clinton, who was frequently interrupted with applause, went on to say that it would have been impossible for him to have the same hatred of Republican presidents the way some right wing Republicans seem to hate President Obama.
He cited President Eisenhower's sending federal troops to his home state of Arkansas to enforce integration and for building the interstate highway system.
He also talked about his cooperation with both President Reagan and George H.W. Bush on the issues of welfare reform and national education.
Mr. Clinton advised:
"What works in the real world is co-operation not constant conflict."
And he added that one of the main reasons Mr. Obama should be re-elected is because...
"he is still committed to constructive cooperation."
The former president satirized the Republican argument this way...
"We (Republicans) left (Obama) a total mess. He hasn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in."
He said he likes the case for Obama's reelection much better:
"He put a floor under the crash and began the...hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for a...more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs..."
The 42nd President concluded with these words:
"I love our country so much. And I know we're coming back. For more than 200 years, through every major crisis, we've always come back...a little stronger and a little better."
*William Jefferson Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1946. He graduated from Georgetown University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford.
He served as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas before being elected President of the United States in 1992.
Clinton was re-elected in 1996. Although impeachment charges were brought against him, he was found not guilty and completed his 2nd term.
President Clinton in Knoxville
Photo by John White (1996)
