Obama Returns To Convention Stage To Make Case For Clinton
PHILADELPHIA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President Barack Obama is returning to the Democratic National Convention Wednesday to implore voters to elect Hillary Clinton as the first woman to occupy the Oval Office.
The White House says Obama worked on the speech late into the night this week. His address will combine an affirmation of Clinton's judgment with a rebuke of the scare tactics he accuses Republican Donald Trump of deploying.
CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will argue in their prime time speeches that Clinton is the best person to carry on their legacy.
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The third day of the convention will also feature a prime time speech by Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Kaine, who will make his appeal to voters for why the Clinton-Kaine ticket should win the nation's highest office.
"People are going to see themselves in that office who never would have," he said. "That's one of the reasons I am so proud to be on this ticket."
Kaine was formally nominated Wednesday as the vice presidential candidate.
Party officials said Wednesday's speakers will focus on the theme of Clinton's "experience and steadiness to bring Americans together.''
They are also expected to focus on national security, distinguishing their plan from their GOP opponent, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
"The most foolish thing you could do in terms of our safety as a community is to shed the alliances with nations all over the world and Donald Trump is a one-man wrecking crew when it comes to alliances we have with other nations," Kaine said.
Other prominent speakers include former defense secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Queens congressman Gregory Meeks said Bloomberg, the Democrat turned Republican turned Independent who considered running this year as a third-party candidate, has a unique perspective.
"If there's anybody that knows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, it's Michael Bloomberg," he told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
A spokesman for Bloomberg said he is endorsing Clinton because of his deep concerns about a Trump presidency. The DNC has given Bloomberg a prime time speaking slot, while current Mayor Bill de Blasio has been relegated to the afternoon.
But New York Sen. Charles Schumer says don't read too much into that.
"They should do what helps them win the election," Schumer said. "Mayor Bloomberg will help them win the election. No problems from me."
Schumer added, "The swing voters, a lot of them, are undecided, and a lot of them respect Michael Bloomberg, so it's gonna matter."
De Blasio gives Bloomberg credit for speaking at the convention
"I commend Mike Bloomberg for publicly supporting Hillary Clinton," de Blasio said. "He's obviously a very important voice in this country because he's an Independent. It's good for him to speak to his fellow Independents and say this is a very stark choice. I think it'll be helpful so I'm very happy he's doing that."
Taking the podium just before Obama will be Sharon Belkofer, whose son was killed in 2010 when he was attacked by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.
Earlier in the evening, there will be remarks from Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, two survivors of the Mother Emanuel Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
Shortly after Clinton formally captured the Democratic nomination Tuesday and declared the glass ceiling cracked and nearly shattered, her husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, delivered an expansive and passionate testimonial.
He offered a deeply personal, though sanitized, account of their relationship, a policy-driven ode to the "best darn change-maker I have ever met.''
Clinton herself appeared over video Tuesday, thanking the roaring convention crowd.
"I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet," she said.
Clinton wants women to vote for her and she wants to be a symbol of the possibility of achievement for the next generation.
"If you're not a woman, you can't understand the experience of the messages you get from society as a little girl that can come through in ways we all don't even realize and that has an impact internally and last night we sent a different message -- you can be president, you can be commander in chief, and that's gonna put a bounce in every girls' step today and they're gonna carry that with them in their soul," said Christie Quinn, co-chair of the New York delegation.
It was Clinton's formal rival Bernie Sanders, who in a show of unity, symbolically ended the roll call.
"I move that Hillary Rodham Clinton be placed as the nominee for the Democratic party for president of the United States," he said.
But the move prompted hundreds of Sanders supporters to walk out, leaving the convention floor in disgust.
Trump tweeted his thoughts about the convention throughout the night.
In one post he wrote: "I hate to say it, but the Republican convention was far more interesting (with a much more beautiful set) than the Democratic convention."
Sanders once again made his case for why Democrats must unite against Trump.
"What makes him unique and dangerous is that he's a demagogue," Sanders said. "He is a demagogue who does not believe in the constitution of the United States."
No marches are planned Wednesday, but two groups supporting Sanders were slowly gathering for daylong rallies near Philadelphia's City Hall.
Some smaller protests popped up around the city, including at a Marriott hotel where a number of delegations are staying and the Comcast Center. Pro-Palestine protesters chanted "No more Israel.''
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