27 August 2008

Hillary Clinton Encourages Supporters to Back Barack Obama

Speakers at Democratic National Convention focus on future of America

In her speech at the Democratic convention, Senator Hillary Clinton encourages her supporters to vote for Obama.

By Michelle Austein
Staff Writer

Denver – “It is time to take back the country we love,” former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in a highly anticipated speech at the Democratic National Convention, telling her supporters and those of  presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, “We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.

“Whether you voted for me or for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. … This is a fight for the future and it is a fight we must win.”

Clinton, a senator from New York and the first viable female presidential candidate in U.S. history, spoke August 26 on the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. She received nearly as many votes as Obama in the Democratic primaries and caucuses, but Obama earned the support of a majority of delegates and superdelegates, securing the nomination.

Since Clinton suspended her campaign in June, political pundits and average Americans alike have questioned whether her supporters would vote for Obama. Ahead of the convention, political experts viewed her speech as a key opportunity to unite the Democratic Party.

Convention delegates, many who are pledged to vote for Clinton, showed their support for the New York senator, sporting pins, shirts, hats and signs with her name. Others waved signs that read “Unity.”

Jo-Ann White, a delegate representing Democrats Abroad who is pledged to vote for Clinton, wore Clinton pins.  She told America.gov that throughout the convention she has been wearing Obama pins. “But tonight is Hillary’s night.”

Clinton, like many other speakers during the second day of the convention, had strong words about presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Throughout the evening, delegates held signs saying “McCain more of the same,” a reference to the policies of the Bush administration.

The New York senator thanked her supporters, saying they made history, and told them that “you haven’t worked so hard over the last 18 months … to suffer through more failed leadership. No way. No how. No McCain.”

“It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities [of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota,] because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart,” Clinton said.

Focusing on the future of the country, Clinton said many problems await the next president, including dealing with job losses, rising prices and international conflicts. She said Obama will tackle these issues and meet global challenges.

Many of the speakers during the second night of the Democratic National Convention linked John McCain with President Bush.

“We don’t have a moment to lose or a vote to spare,” Clinton said. “Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.”

FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR GIVES KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia and current candidate for the U.S. Senate, gave the convention’s keynote address, which focused on the future of the party and the future of America.

“The most important contest of our generation has begun,” Warner said. “Not the campaign for the presidency. Not the campaign for Congress. But the race for the future.”

“It won't be won with yesterday's ideas and yesterday's divisions. And it won't be won with a president who is stuck in the past. We need a president who understands the world today, the future we seek and the change we need,” Warner said.

Saying that “at this critical moment in our history, we have one shot to get it right,” Warner discussed the importance of reducing dependence on foreign oil, stopping global warming, improving health care and education and rebuilding alliances.

“Which candidate understands these opportunities, and which candidate knows we don't have another four years to waste? Barack Obama.”

The keynote speaker slot is traditionally given to a rising leader in the party. In 2004, Obama, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, gave a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention. Another reason for Warner’s selection might be that Virginia, for the first time in decades, is considered a swing state in the presidential election.

NEXT STEPS FOR HILLARY CLINTON

Joe Lockhart, press secretary in President Bill Clinton’s administration, said at a State Department Foreign Press Center briefing August 26 that Hillary Clinton’s speech was an opportunity to honor and legitimize the work her supporters did in creating a historic moment in American politics.

He said that while “her supporters have been waiting for this [speech],” the party will be united after the convention.

“I predict that by the end of this convention, you’ll see a very specific and positive agenda for change laid out by many surrogates for Barack Obama and Barack Obama himself. You’ll also see how clear the choice is,” Lockhart said.

Lockhart said that following the convention, he expects Clinton’s top priority to be helping elect the Democratic ticket and then “going back to the Senate and helping President Obama and Vice President Biden enact the kind of legislation that will actually improve the lives of working class Americans.”