President Obama poured it on in his first campaign appearance for Hillary Clinton, and told the crowd in Charlotte, N.C., that his one-time political rival is the most qualified candidate for president ever, and that he’s ready to hand her the keys to the White House.
“I’m ready to pass the baton,” Obama told the enthusiastic crowd gathered at the city’s convention center, site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. “I am here today because I believe in Hillary Clinton and I want you to help elect her to be the next president of the United States.”
Obama explained how his admiration for the former first lady grew as they slugged out in the 2008 Democratic primary.
“I came away from that primary admiring her even more,” Obama said after taking the stage chanting “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!”
Obama admitted that Clinton’s breadth of knowledge and preparation was intimidating.
“Let’s be clear, she beat me … at least the first half and then I could just barely play her to a draw,” he confessed.
“She knew every fact, every detail” and her passion for people is admirable, he said.
He also lauded her for taking a drubbing but soldiering on.
“She’d just stand up straighter and come back stronger,” he said, calling her the “Energizer Bunny.” He reiterated his comparison of his former secretary of state to dancing legend Ginger Rogers, who had to everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in heels.
Obama pointed out that the duo buried the hatchet back in 2008 when they appeared in Unity, N.H., together — “in case anybody missed the point” —after he bested her in the prolonged primary.
“My faith in Hillary Clinton has always been rewarded,” he said while extolling her credentials.
“There has never been any man or woman more qualified … than Hillary Clinton—and that’s the truth,” he said, repeating a superlative he first bestowed on her in his video endorsement of her candidacy last month. “So the bottom line is I know Hillary can do the job!”
Obama took several humorous jabs at presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
“Everybody can tweet,” he said. “But nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you’ve sat behind the desk,” he said, adding that his youngest daughter Sasha can tweet but doesn’t think that qualifies her to serve as president.
“Hillary Clinton has been tested,” Obama continued. “She has seen up close what is involved in making those decisions.” She was in the meetings and helped make tough calls, he said.
