At the convention last night, Former President Bill Clinton highlighted President Obama’s achievements from the last four years. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
President Obama Nominated for a Second Term
Former President Bill Clinton speaks at Democratic convention
On the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, former President Bill Clinton officially nominated Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee. A roll call by state followed Clinton’s speech, and delegations from every U.S. state pledged their delegates to the party’s official nominee, President Obama.
During his speech, Clinton fiercely pledged his support to President Obama.
“I want a man who believes with no doubt that we can build a new American dream economy, driven by innovation and creativity, by education, and, yes, by cooperation,” Clinton said. “I want Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. And I proudly nominate him to be the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party.”
In his speech, Clinton spoke about a variety of issues, but the major theme was to dispute Republican criticism of Democrats. The economy is a key issue in the election. The Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, and his running mate, Paul Ryan, have focused their campaign on criticizing Obama’s record on the economy.
Clinton also referred to the question asked in 1980 by Republican Ronald Reagan when running against his Democratic rival, President Jimmy Carter—and which is now being asked by Romney: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”
“Are we better off than we were when he took office?” Clinton asked the audience. “When President Barack Obama took office, the economy was in free fall. . . . We were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Are we doing better than that today? The answer is yes.”
After Clinton’s speech, the man he had nominated walked onto the stage. Although they were at one time political opponents—Obama defeated Clinton’s wife, Hillary, in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries—the current President embraced Clinton onstage to the roar of the crowd, and they walked off the stage together.
Other speakers on the evening of September 5 included U.S. Representative and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.
Obama is scheduled to make his acceptance speech on Thursday night. Once he and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, accept their party’s nominations, their campaign for re-election will officially begin. Both will face off against their Republican opponents in a series of debates over the next two months. They will also travel the country, campaigning for votes, until Election Day on November 6.
Kid Reporter Andrew Liang will be reporting from Charlotte this week. Follow his coverage on the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps Blog and the Election 2012 website!
Andrew Liang is a member of the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps.
Keep up with all the latest election news on the Election 2012 website.
Get the latest on national and international events, movies, television, music, sports, and more from the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps.
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