President Obama said Monday night that his presidency turned “yes we can” into “yes we did,” and predicted that people would vote for Hillary Clinton in order to extend his own policies.
Speaking in Philadelphia with the Democratic nominee, Obama said his own campaign tried eight years ago not to just change programs or policies, but to “rebuild an economy” and ensure that “everyone has a chance to succeed, to reform Washington to make your voices more powerful than entrenched lobbyists.”
Back then, he promised to “use the power of our ideas … to shape a changing America so that everybody belongs ad everybody has a part, a responsibility.”
“In the face of unprecedented obstruction and a cynical Washington, we stayed with it and the American people stayed with it,” he said. “And because of your resilience and your strength … we turned ‘yes, we can’ into ‘yes, we did.'”
“I still believe in hope, I’m still as optimistic as every about our future, because of you, the American people,” he said.
Obama rattled off a list of his accomplishments, including the creation of 15.5 million new jobs, rising incomes, falling poverty, 20 million more Americans with health insurance, and the Supreme Court decision that made gay marriage legal across the country.
“With Democrats in charge, America is stronger,” he said. “We now have the chance” to elect a president “who will build on our progress … who is smart, who is steady and who is tested.”
Instead of just voting against Donald Trump, Americans can vote in favor of Hillary Clinton, he said.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve had to bite my tongue after a lot of the nonsense that’s been said about Hillary Clinton,” Obama said, noting how popular she was on a bipartisan basis for most of her tenure as secretary of state.
“She will deliver – she won’t just tweet,” he said.
Moments earlier, Michelle Obama implored Democrats to get out and vote for Clinton. She also spoke proudly of Obama, who she called the “love of her life” who she said has exhibited “intelligence, dignity and grace” by “always going high when they go low” while never compromising his values.
“We need a leader who sees our diversity not as a threat, but as a blessing,” she said. “…Who sees us not just as black or white, immigrant or native born, but as brothers and sisters who are infinitely worthy – all part of this great American story.”
She warned that turnout is key in Clinton winning the election. If Democrats turn out and vote for Clinton, she will win. “But if we stay home, or play around with a protest vote, then Clinton’s opponents will win, end of story,” she said.
“Tomorrow with your vote, you can stand up to those who seek to divide us and make us afraid…tomorrow with your vote, you can say that this country has always been great, that this is the greatest nation on earth, a country where a girl like me…whose great, great grandfather was a slave, can go to the finest universities on earth.”
It is a country, she said, where her husband and Bill Clinton, two children of single mothers, can “both make it to the White House.”
“So, can we count on you? Can Hillary count on you?” she asked. “You’ve got to get out and vote. We can make this happen.”
