July 28, 2016
Deconstructing Dopey; The Audacity of Barack Obama's Convention Speech
Timothy Birdnow
I have the distinct displeasure of dissecting Dopbama's Democratic diatribe from last night. His words will be in normal Roman script and mine bracketed in italics.) In the interest of brevity I have cut a few flowery paragraphs which does not materially affect the content of the speech:
And it’s true – I was so young that first time in Boston. Maybe a little nervous addressing such a big crowd. But I was filled with faith; faith in America – the generous, bighearted, hopeful country that made my story – indeed, all of our stories – possible.
(His story was made not in America but in Indonesia, never forget that.)
A lot’s happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war and recession and all manner of challenge – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your President, to tell you I am even more optimistic about the future of America.
How could I not be – after all we’ve achieved together?
After the worst recession in 80 years, we’ve fought our way back. We’ve seen deficits come down, 401(k)s recover, an auto industry set new records, unemployment reach eight-year lows, and our businesses create 15 million new jobs.
After a century of trying, we declared that health care in America is not a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody. After decades of talk, we finally began to wean ourselves off foreign oil, and doubled our production of clean energy.
We brought more of our troops home to their families, and delivered justice to Osama bin Laden. Through diplomacy, we shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program, opened up a new chapter with the people of Cuba, and brought nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our kids.
We put policies in place to help students with loans; protect consumers from fraud; and cut veteran homelessness almost in half. And through countless acts of quiet courage, America learned that love has no limits, and marriage equality is now a reality across the land.
By so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started.
(It's all about the BHO! And most of it is at best marginally true.)
Look, we Democrats have always had plenty of differences with the Republican Party, and there’s nothing wrong with that; it’s precisely this contest of ideas that pushes our country forward.
But what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn’t particularly Republican – and it sure wasn’t conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other, and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems – just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate.
(First, how dare Obama lecture Conservatives on the meaning of Conservative? He has no right, any more than we have a right to lecture socialism to a socialist. Second off, there was nothing pessimistic about it; Trump and the other speakers were quite optimistic, but were not Pollyannaish about it. Obama has wrecked the country, and planning to fix it requires a truthful evaluation. The hypocrisy of a man who tells Black Lives Matter to "keep the spirit of Ferguson alive" to chide the GOP for "fanning flames of resentment and blame and anger and hate" is astonishing.)
And that is not the America I know.
(Mr. Obama, you have never known America. That is your problem. If you knew her you would not be so hell bent on changing her into a European socialist state.)
The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties – about paying the bills, protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures; men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten; parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we had.
(Yes, and YOU caused that.)
Most of all, I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together – black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young and old; gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love.
That’s the America I know. And there is only one candidate in this race who believes in that future, and has devoted her life to it; a mother and grandmother who’d do anything to help our children thrive; a leader with real plans to break down barriers, blast through glass ceilings, and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American – the next President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.
[...]
Hillary’s still got the tenacity she had as a young woman working at the Children’s Defense Fund, going door to door to ultimately make sure kids with disabilities could get a quality education.
{The same tenacity that got her thrown off the impeachment committee of the House Judiciary Committee for being too vicious? She was deemed unethical then by Jerry Zeifman, chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, who said she was a liar. Tenacity is not necessarily a virtue; Adolf Hitler was quite tenacious in his murder of the Jews.)
You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. Until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes for the working family, the senior citizen, the small business owner, the soldier, and the veteran. Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.
(Uh, Barry, she quit in Benghazi, left those people to die, then lied about a video to cover up her negligence. I would rather have a newbie make mistakes than a proven gross incompetent and liar who is only concerned with her political and economic fortunes. And what would YOU know about sitting behind that desk? You are never there; you spend your life on the golf course.)
That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America.
Now, Hillary has real plans to address the concerns she’s heard from you on the campaign trail. She’s got specific ideas to invest in new jobs, to help workers share in their company’s profits, to help put kids in preschool, and put students through college without taking on a ton of debt. That’s what leaders do.
(Expensive programs absolutely take on a ton of debt. You can't spend money without taking it from someone if you are in government. And being a leader is more than giving away free stuff.)
And then there’s Donald Trump. He’s not really a plans guy. Not really a facts guy, either. He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who’ve achieved success without leaving a trail of lawsuits, and unpaid workers, and people feeling like they got cheated.
(Barry, you did that to all of America, so you should not call the kettle black, o pot smoker!)
Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? If so, you should vote for him. But if you’re someone who’s truly concerned about paying your bills, and seeing the economy grow, and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn’t even close. If you want someone with a lifelong track record of fighting for higher wages, better benefits, a fairer tax code, a bigger voice for workers, and stronger regulations on Wall Street, then you should vote for Hillary Clinton.
(First, Trump is not known as a true robber baron. He hires blacks, he hires women, he pays women equally with men - something Obama himself fails to do in the White House. Mr. Trump has actually created jobs and built things. All Hillary has ever done is ask taxpayers for money to spend.)
And if you’re concerned about who’s going to keep you and your family safe in a dangerous world – well, the choice is even clearer. Hillary Clinton is respected around the world not just by leaders, but by the people they serve. She’s worked closely with our intelligence teams, our diplomats, our military. And she has the judgment, the experience, and the temperament to meet the threat from terrorism. It’s not new to her. Our troops have pounded ISIL without mercy, taking out leaders, taking back territory. I know Hillary won’t relent until ISIL is destroyed. She’ll finish the job – and she’ll do it without resorting to torture, or banning entire religions from entering our country. She is fit to be the next Commander-in-Chief.
(It was under Hillary's watch that Iraq fell to Al Qaeda aka ISIS. It was under Hillary's watch that Libya, once a stable country, fell to ISIS. It was under Hillary's watch that the Russians bought up large amounts of American uranium - and Hillary made great money. It was under Hillary's watch that terrorism exploded. It was under Hillary's watch that Egypt fell under the control of the radical Muslim Brotherhood. It was under Hillary's watch that Mexican drug cartels obtained huge amounts of American weaponry. It was under Hillary's watch Russia invaded the Crimea and Ukraine. All hell has broken loose around the world under Hillary's care, and often it was HER policies that caused the problems. No, I don't think she has proven herself in any credible way whatsoever. Oh, and how much territory have we actually taken back from ISIS, Barry?)
Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls our military a disaster. Apparently, he doesn’t know the men and women who make up the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. He suggests America is weak. He must not hear the billions of men, women, and children, from the Baltics to Burma, who still look to America to be the light of freedom, dignity, and human rights. He cozies up to Putin, praises Saddam Hussein, and tells the NATO allies that stood by our side after 9/11 that they have to pay up if they want our protection. Well, America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. And that’s one reason why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago.
(Here is a classic liberal trick. Trump criticized the way the Obama Administration has RUN the military, run it into the ground, and Obama lies about the statements, trying to say Trump is attacking the military personnel. This is a despicable lie and Obama knows it. Obama also knows that we are trillions of dollars in debt and that any money we pay for NATO comes from the Chinese or Japanese, money we borrow to protect a prosperous Europe. Why, pray tell, should the Europeans not spend money in their own defense? NATO was created to contain the defunct U.S.S.R. and it has little concrete value now, except to allow the Europeans to avoid spending money on their own defense. Essentially, we ARE NATO, we finance it, and yet we don't really control it. Why bother with the pretense? Especially since we have allowed potential member nations to be overrun - Georgia, Ukraine. Oh, the world is LAUGHING at us, not thinking we are making it safer. Obama is such a liar.)
America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump.
In fact, it doesn’t depend on any one person. And that, in the end, may be the biggest difference in this election – the meaning of our democracy.
(Thank God for that, as Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton have done their level best to wreck our strength and greatness.)
Ronald Reagan called America "a shining city on a hill.†Donald Trump calls it "a divided crime scene†that only he can fix. It doesn’t matter to him that illegal immigration and the crime rate are as low as they’ve been in decades, because he’s not offering any real solutions to those issues. He’s just offering slogans, and he’s offering fear. He’s betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election.
(That's a lie. Illegal immigration dropped off only because of the economic downturn, but it is still higher than at any other time in history except the Bush II years, and it is surging in a dramatic fashion. Obama inherited a low crime rate, which is in the process of rising dramatically. See also here. And Mr. Obama wants to legalize them all, unlike previous Presidents.
It should also be noted that Obama is touting HIS accomplishments and not Hillary's.)
That is another bet that Donald Trump will lose. Because he’s selling the American people short. We are not a fragile or frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order. We don’t look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago; We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that together, We, the People, can form a more perfect union.
(I truly want to rip my face off here. Obama campaigned not as a man but as a Messiah. Does he really think we have forgotten that? HE is the one who rules by Executive Order, circumventing the other branches of government as a good tyrant would do. It was Obama who ordered schools to allow boys dressed as girls to have access to girl's bathrooms and showers - despite the fact that transvestites are not a protected class under Title IX. There was no court order or Congressional mandate, but he wanted it so he simply declared it. And he threatened schools with loss of funding AND endless lawsuits if they didn't obey his majestic Will. He has done this repeatedly, with illegal immigrants, with changes to laws - such as the deadlines in Obamacare - etc. Obama cares nary a wit about the Constitution or the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. He denies liberty, he denies the pursuit of happiness - which was a phrase meaning the right to pursue your own interests AND BE LEFT ALONE. He in fact denies Natural Law and the subsequent concept of inalienable rights, preferring to believe rights come from a purely social contract. What a liar this man is!)
That’s who we are. That’s our birthright – the capacity to shape our own destiny. That’s what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny and our GIs to liberate a continent. It’s what gave women the courage to reach for the ballot, and marchers to cross a bridge in Selma, and workers to organize and fight for better wages.
(Notice there is no mention of settling a hostile continent, resisting desperadoes and vicious aborigines, or fighting a Civil War to free slaves. Obama doesn't believe we should ever have settled America in the first place and he doesn't want us to remember that African Americans were not freed of their own efforts but that white people suffered, bled, and died for their salvation.)
America has never been about what one person says he’ll do for us. It’s always been about what can be achieved by us, together, through the hard, slow, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enduring work of self-government.)
(!!!!! That was precisely his argument in 2008, that he was The Savior!)
And that’s what Hillary Clinton understands. She knows that this is a big, diverse country, and that most issues are rarely black and white. That even when you’re 100 percent right, getting things done requires compromise. That democracy doesn’t work if we constantly demonize each other. She knows that for progress to happen, we have to listen to each other, see ourselves in each other, fight for our principles but also fight to find common ground, no matter how elusive that may seem.
(Mr. Obama was a lawyer for ACORN before going into politics, and his primary duty was to steal votes. THAT'S Democracy for you! He won his first few elections by digging dirt on his opponents and forcing them out of the race so he was the only candidate, or the only one who had a chance. And don't tell me about comity; Obama's Justice Department refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers when they blocked the polling places in 2008 to prevent white people from voting. Democracy is only good when it favors him and his people.)
Hillary knows we can work through racial divides in this country when we realize the worry black parents feel when their son leaves the house isn’t so different than what a brave cop’s family feels when he puts on the blue and goes to work; that we can honor police and treat every community fairly. She knows that acknowledging problems that have festered for decades isn’t making race relations worse – it’s creating the possibility for people of good will to join and make things better.
(Funny; race relations have gotten worse since Mr. Obama took office. Hillary will follow the same path.)
Hillary knows we can insist on a lawful and orderly immigration system while still seeing striving students and their toiling parents as loving families, not criminals or rapists; families that came here for the same reasons our forebears came – to work, and study, and make a better life, in a place where we can talk and worship and love as we please. She knows their dream is quintessentially American, and the American Dream is something no wall will ever contain.
(Countless would-be immigrants have been denied entry over the centuries and Obama knows it. Also, there is a difference between a nation that is composed of empty pioneer land and one that is the third most populous nation on Earth, and while immigration may have been part of our heritage it doesn't mean unrestrained immigration can be maintained forever. Americans were all farmers in the past, too, but now few are. America was a manufacturing titan in the past but no more. Americans were mostly white in the past; I somehow doubt Mr. Obama would agree to returning to those days. Times change.
Oh, and Obama has stifled that "worship as we please" business on a number of occasions - such as his Obamacare forcing Catholic institutions to provide abortion services, or making Christian bakers bake gay wedding cakes.)
It can be frustrating, this business of democracy. Trust me, I know. Hillary knows, too. When the other side refuses to compromise, progress can stall. Supporters can grow impatient, and worry that you’re not trying hard enough; that you’ve maybe sold out.
(Uh, the other side has done nothing but compromise; it's why Trump is where he is at, Barry.)
But I promise you, when we keep at it; when we change enough minds; when we deliver enough votes, then progress does happen. Just ask the twenty million more people who have health care today. Just ask the Marine who proudly serves his country without hiding the husband he loves. Democracy works, but we gotta want it – not just during an election year, but all the days in between.)
(Change minds? You people lose every debate when it is fair. You aren't about changing minds but forcing things down America's throat. The ACA aka Obamacare was a straight partisan vote, and has never been popular. You didn't win the debate you strong-armed the opposition. Tyrant!)
So if you agree that there’s too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders’ supporters have been. We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done.
(Too much money in politics? Hillary Clinton has a mammoth war chest and has outspent Donald Trump by staggering amounts. To even bring this issue up is a shocking hypocrisy. Obama too; he originally pledged to take government funding for his 2008 campaign until he realized he could out raise John McCain, then he broke his pledge.)
If you want more justice in the justice system, then we’ve all got to vote – not just for a President, but for mayors, and sheriffs, and state’s attorneys, and state legislators. And we’ve got to work with police and protesters until laws and practices are changed.
If you want to fight climate change, we’ve got to engage not only young people on college campuses, but reach out to the coal miner who’s worried about taking care of his family, the single mom worried about gas prices.
(Like you did, Barry, when you promised to bankrupt the coal companies - and then delivered? St. Louis, where I live, lost Arch Coal and saw Peabody Energy in receivership - two major employers in the area. That was Obama's doings, or largely. And there has been no warming planet wide for nearly 20 years now. Sorry, but Climate Change is a computer extrapolation not backed up by on-the-ground data. Those coal miners lost their jobs over hot air that was not even hot.)
If you want to protect our kids and our cops from gun violence, we’ve got to get the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, who agree on background checks to be just as vocal and determined as the gun lobby that blocks change through every funeral we hold. That’s how change will happen.
(Or maybe we should enforce existing gun laws, something this administration has failed repeatedly to do.)
Look, Hillary’s got her share of critics. She’s been caricatured by the right and by some folks on the left; accused of everything you can imagine – and some things you can’t. But she knows that’s what happens when you’re under a microscope for 40 years. She knows she’s made mistakes, just like I have; just like we all do. That’s what happens when we try. That’s what happens when you’re the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described – not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone "who is actually in the arena…who strives valiantly; who errs…[but] who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement.â€
Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena. She’s been there for us – even if we haven’t always noticed. And if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. America isn’t about "yes he will.†It’s about "yes we can.†And we’re going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that’s what the moment demands.
You know, there’s been a lot of talk in this campaign about what America’s lost – people who tell us that our way of life is being undermined by pernicious changes and dark forces beyond our control. They tell voters there’s a "real America†out there that must be restored. This isn’t an idea that started with Donald Trump. It’s been peddled by politicians for a long time – probably from the start of our Republic.
(And it's true; why are we having a fight with our government and liberals about "potty parity" for transgendered when they make up less then one tenth of one percent of the population? That proves there is a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario here in America. Where someone pees is no concern of the government. Yes, there is a real America, and Obama and Hillary are not it.)
And it’s got me thinking about the story I told you twelve years ago tonight, about my Kansas grandparents and the things they taught me when I was growing up. They came from the heartland; their ancestors began settling there about 200 years ago. They were Scotch-Irish mostly, farmers, teachers, ranch hands, pharmacists, oil rig workers. Hardy, small town folks. Some were Democrats, but a lot of them were Republicans. My grandparents explained that they didn’t like show-offs. They didn’t admire braggarts or bullies. They didn’t respect mean-spiritedness, or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life. Instead, they valued traits like honesty and hard work. Kindness and courtesy. Humility; responsibility; helping each other out.
That’s what they believed in. True things. Things that last. The things we try to teach our kids.
(Obama also sneered at his white grandmother from Kansas as a "typical white person" meaning a biased, unthinking, uncaring dope. And his grandfather was on the F.B.I. watch list because of his close ties to the CPUSA and his friendship with the card carrying Communist Frank Marshall Davis. And Barack apparently learned little from them, as he is a monumental braggart - once claiming he needed no advisors because he knew more than any of them - and is clearly a bully of monumental proportions; he managed to unseal his opponent for the Senate in Illinois's divorce record and used the unsubstantiated allegations from his ex-wife against him in the campaign, forcing Mr. Ryan to drop out of the race. That is bullying on a profound scale.)
And what my grandparents understood was that these values weren’t limited to Kansas. They weren’t limited to small towns. These values could travel to Hawaii; even the other side of the world, where my mother would end up working to help poor women get a better life. They knew these values weren’t reserved for one race; they could be passed down to a half-Kenyan grandson, or a half-Asian granddaughter; in fact, they were the same values Michelle’s parents, the descendants of slaves, taught their own kids living in a bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. They knew these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke; a baseball cap or a hijab.
(Well, if these values draw so many immigrants why do you want to fundamentally remake America?)
America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me – they haven’t gone anywhere. They’re as strong as ever; still cherished by people of every party, every race, and every faith. They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots, is what’s in here. That’s what matters. That’s why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries, and blend it into something uniquely our own. That’s why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That’s why our military can look the way it does, every shade of humanity, forged into common service. That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.
That’s America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it, embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own. That’s what Hillary Clinton understands – this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot – that’s the America she’s fighting for.
(Here is the subtle lie of the Democrats, the Progressives, and other liberals. America's strength is not in the absolute unity of our people but in the freedom to act outside of the collective. It has always been America's great strength, that we are free to chart our own course. Obama doesn't believe that, once claiming "if you have a business...You didn't build that" with the idea that, since society offers certain infrastructure it is society that actually built your business and not you. This is a very alien and destructive concept, one that fails miserably on the world stage. It is tribalism applied to a nation state. The countries that adopt this viewpoint generally see declining standards of living and wealth, because we are not herd animals and we value or independence and freedom. Those people in Kansas first and foremost treasure the independence of their ancestors.
There is value in teamwork but also value in individual action. When the team makes the individual subservient the individual stops innovating, stops producing, stops creating. Creativity never comes in bunches. Obama has just made the case for Republicanism, and he did it while touting the glories of collectivization.)
And that’s why I have confidence, as I leave this stage tonight, that the Democratic Party is in good hands. My time in this office hasn’t fixed everything; as much as we’ve done, there’s still so much I want to do. But for all the tough lessons I’ve had to learn; for all the places I’ve fallen short; I’ve told Hillary, and I’ll tell you what’s picked me back up, every single time.
It’s been you. The American people.
It’s the letter I keep on my wall from a survivor in Ohio who twice almost lost everything to cancer, but urged me to keep fighting for health care reform, even when the battle seemed lost. Do not quit.
(How about those who benefited from the services of the V.A.? Had that cancer survivor gotten the health care Obama wanted he or she would likely be dead now.)
It’s the painting I keep in my private office, a big-eyed, green owl, made by a seven year-old girl who was taken from us in Newtown, given to me by her parents so I wouldn’t forget – a reminder of all the parents who have turned their grief into action.
It’s the small business owner in Colorado who cut most of his own salary so he wouldn’t have to lay off any of his workers in the recession – because, he said, "that wouldn’t have been in the spirit of America.â€
(Many entrepreneurs underpay themselves or work for nothing to keep their staff employed. That is what a free market - something Obama despises - accomplishes. Raise the minimum wage, force employers to obey draconian regulations, and those workers will lose their jobs. This is an argument that destroys the Democrat's whole premise that free enterprise is evil and abusive.)
It’s the conservative in Texas who said he disagreed with me on everything, but appreciated that, like him, I try to be a good dad.
It’s the courage of the young soldier from Arizona who nearly died on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but who’s learned to speak and walk again – and earlier this year, stepped through the door of the Oval Office on his own power, to salute and shake my hand.
(If BHO really cared about such soldiers he would win wars and not keep them simmering everywhere - and not pull out to allow the evil people to make what these soldiers sacrificed meaningless.)
It’s every American who believed we could change this country for the better, so many of you who’d never been involved in politics, who picked up phones, and hit the streets, and used the internet in amazing new ways to make change happen. You are the best organizers on the planet, and I’m so proud of all the change you’ve made possible.
Time and again, you’ve picked me up. I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too. Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you’re who I was talking about twelve years ago, when I talked about hope – it’s been you who’ve fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; the audacity of hope!
(The Audacity of a Dope!)
America, you have vindicated that hope these past eight years. And now I’m ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. This year, in this election, I’m asking you to join me – to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what’s best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.
Thank you for this incredible journey. Let’s keep it going. God bless the United States of America.
(Obama has been the champion of cynism these past eight years. He has told us we need to reign in our expectations on so many fronts, that we need to use less energy, fewer resources. He has demanded we apologize to everyone for everything. He has made us accept the government in our lives to a degree never before seen. Pride and independence go hand-in-hand, and yet Obama has systematically destroyed our independence as individuals. He has roiled race relations. He has set one American at another's throat. He has weakened our military, using up our planes, or missiles, our tanks and guns and not replacing them. He has tried very hard to prevent our energy independence, killing coal and trying to stop hydraulic fracturing. He has systematically wiped out the family farm, allowing the government to take over land or forcing it sold to fat-cat speculators like George Soros. He has made us less safe, be it internationally or at home. He is the penultimate cynic.
How do we show we still believe in the promise of America when Obama never did, nor does Hillary?)
I have the distinct displeasure of dissecting Dopbama's Democratic diatribe from last night. His words will be in normal Roman script and mine bracketed in italics.) In the interest of brevity I have cut a few flowery paragraphs which does not materially affect the content of the speech:
And it’s true – I was so young that first time in Boston. Maybe a little nervous addressing such a big crowd. But I was filled with faith; faith in America – the generous, bighearted, hopeful country that made my story – indeed, all of our stories – possible.
(His story was made not in America but in Indonesia, never forget that.)
A lot’s happened over the years. And while this nation has been tested by war and recession and all manner of challenge – I stand before you again tonight, after almost two terms as your President, to tell you I am even more optimistic about the future of America.
How could I not be – after all we’ve achieved together?
After the worst recession in 80 years, we’ve fought our way back. We’ve seen deficits come down, 401(k)s recover, an auto industry set new records, unemployment reach eight-year lows, and our businesses create 15 million new jobs.
After a century of trying, we declared that health care in America is not a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody. After decades of talk, we finally began to wean ourselves off foreign oil, and doubled our production of clean energy.
We brought more of our troops home to their families, and delivered justice to Osama bin Laden. Through diplomacy, we shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program, opened up a new chapter with the people of Cuba, and brought nearly 200 nations together around a climate agreement that could save this planet for our kids.
We put policies in place to help students with loans; protect consumers from fraud; and cut veteran homelessness almost in half. And through countless acts of quiet courage, America learned that love has no limits, and marriage equality is now a reality across the land.
By so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started.
(It's all about the BHO! And most of it is at best marginally true.)
Look, we Democrats have always had plenty of differences with the Republican Party, and there’s nothing wrong with that; it’s precisely this contest of ideas that pushes our country forward.
But what we heard in Cleveland last week wasn’t particularly Republican – and it sure wasn’t conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other, and turn away from the rest of the world. There were no serious solutions to pressing problems – just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate.
(First, how dare Obama lecture Conservatives on the meaning of Conservative? He has no right, any more than we have a right to lecture socialism to a socialist. Second off, there was nothing pessimistic about it; Trump and the other speakers were quite optimistic, but were not Pollyannaish about it. Obama has wrecked the country, and planning to fix it requires a truthful evaluation. The hypocrisy of a man who tells Black Lives Matter to "keep the spirit of Ferguson alive" to chide the GOP for "fanning flames of resentment and blame and anger and hate" is astonishing.)
And that is not the America I know.
(Mr. Obama, you have never known America. That is your problem. If you knew her you would not be so hell bent on changing her into a European socialist state.)
The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous. Sure, we have real anxieties – about paying the bills, protecting our kids, caring for a sick parent. We get frustrated with political gridlock, worry about racial divisions; are shocked and saddened by the madness of Orlando or Nice. There are pockets of America that never recovered from factory closures; men who took pride in hard work and providing for their families who now feel forgotten; parents who wonder whether their kids will have the same opportunities we had.
(Yes, and YOU caused that.)
Most of all, I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together – black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young and old; gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love.
That’s the America I know. And there is only one candidate in this race who believes in that future, and has devoted her life to it; a mother and grandmother who’d do anything to help our children thrive; a leader with real plans to break down barriers, blast through glass ceilings, and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American – the next President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.
[...]
Hillary’s still got the tenacity she had as a young woman working at the Children’s Defense Fund, going door to door to ultimately make sure kids with disabilities could get a quality education.
{The same tenacity that got her thrown off the impeachment committee of the House Judiciary Committee for being too vicious? She was deemed unethical then by Jerry Zeifman, chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, who said she was a liar. Tenacity is not necessarily a virtue; Adolf Hitler was quite tenacious in his murder of the Jews.)
You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. Until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes for the working family, the senior citizen, the small business owner, the soldier, and the veteran. Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.
(Uh, Barry, she quit in Benghazi, left those people to die, then lied about a video to cover up her negligence. I would rather have a newbie make mistakes than a proven gross incompetent and liar who is only concerned with her political and economic fortunes. And what would YOU know about sitting behind that desk? You are never there; you spend your life on the golf course.)
That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America.
Now, Hillary has real plans to address the concerns she’s heard from you on the campaign trail. She’s got specific ideas to invest in new jobs, to help workers share in their company’s profits, to help put kids in preschool, and put students through college without taking on a ton of debt. That’s what leaders do.
(Expensive programs absolutely take on a ton of debt. You can't spend money without taking it from someone if you are in government. And being a leader is more than giving away free stuff.)
And then there’s Donald Trump. He’s not really a plans guy. Not really a facts guy, either. He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who’ve achieved success without leaving a trail of lawsuits, and unpaid workers, and people feeling like they got cheated.
(Barry, you did that to all of America, so you should not call the kettle black, o pot smoker!)
Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? If so, you should vote for him. But if you’re someone who’s truly concerned about paying your bills, and seeing the economy grow, and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn’t even close. If you want someone with a lifelong track record of fighting for higher wages, better benefits, a fairer tax code, a bigger voice for workers, and stronger regulations on Wall Street, then you should vote for Hillary Clinton.
(First, Trump is not known as a true robber baron. He hires blacks, he hires women, he pays women equally with men - something Obama himself fails to do in the White House. Mr. Trump has actually created jobs and built things. All Hillary has ever done is ask taxpayers for money to spend.)
And if you’re concerned about who’s going to keep you and your family safe in a dangerous world – well, the choice is even clearer. Hillary Clinton is respected around the world not just by leaders, but by the people they serve. She’s worked closely with our intelligence teams, our diplomats, our military. And she has the judgment, the experience, and the temperament to meet the threat from terrorism. It’s not new to her. Our troops have pounded ISIL without mercy, taking out leaders, taking back territory. I know Hillary won’t relent until ISIL is destroyed. She’ll finish the job – and she’ll do it without resorting to torture, or banning entire religions from entering our country. She is fit to be the next Commander-in-Chief.
(It was under Hillary's watch that Iraq fell to Al Qaeda aka ISIS. It was under Hillary's watch that Libya, once a stable country, fell to ISIS. It was under Hillary's watch that the Russians bought up large amounts of American uranium - and Hillary made great money. It was under Hillary's watch that terrorism exploded. It was under Hillary's watch that Egypt fell under the control of the radical Muslim Brotherhood. It was under Hillary's watch that Mexican drug cartels obtained huge amounts of American weaponry. It was under Hillary's watch Russia invaded the Crimea and Ukraine. All hell has broken loose around the world under Hillary's care, and often it was HER policies that caused the problems. No, I don't think she has proven herself in any credible way whatsoever. Oh, and how much territory have we actually taken back from ISIS, Barry?)
Meanwhile, Donald Trump calls our military a disaster. Apparently, he doesn’t know the men and women who make up the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. He suggests America is weak. He must not hear the billions of men, women, and children, from the Baltics to Burma, who still look to America to be the light of freedom, dignity, and human rights. He cozies up to Putin, praises Saddam Hussein, and tells the NATO allies that stood by our side after 9/11 that they have to pay up if they want our protection. Well, America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. And that’s one reason why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago.
(Here is a classic liberal trick. Trump criticized the way the Obama Administration has RUN the military, run it into the ground, and Obama lies about the statements, trying to say Trump is attacking the military personnel. This is a despicable lie and Obama knows it. Obama also knows that we are trillions of dollars in debt and that any money we pay for NATO comes from the Chinese or Japanese, money we borrow to protect a prosperous Europe. Why, pray tell, should the Europeans not spend money in their own defense? NATO was created to contain the defunct U.S.S.R. and it has little concrete value now, except to allow the Europeans to avoid spending money on their own defense. Essentially, we ARE NATO, we finance it, and yet we don't really control it. Why bother with the pretense? Especially since we have allowed potential member nations to be overrun - Georgia, Ukraine. Oh, the world is LAUGHING at us, not thinking we are making it safer. Obama is such a liar.)
America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump.
In fact, it doesn’t depend on any one person. And that, in the end, may be the biggest difference in this election – the meaning of our democracy.
(Thank God for that, as Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton have done their level best to wreck our strength and greatness.)
Ronald Reagan called America "a shining city on a hill.†Donald Trump calls it "a divided crime scene†that only he can fix. It doesn’t matter to him that illegal immigration and the crime rate are as low as they’ve been in decades, because he’s not offering any real solutions to those issues. He’s just offering slogans, and he’s offering fear. He’s betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election.
(That's a lie. Illegal immigration dropped off only because of the economic downturn, but it is still higher than at any other time in history except the Bush II years, and it is surging in a dramatic fashion. Obama inherited a low crime rate, which is in the process of rising dramatically. See also here. And Mr. Obama wants to legalize them all, unlike previous Presidents.
It should also be noted that Obama is touting HIS accomplishments and not Hillary's.)
That is another bet that Donald Trump will lose. Because he’s selling the American people short. We are not a fragile or frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order. We don’t look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago; We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that together, We, the People, can form a more perfect union.
(I truly want to rip my face off here. Obama campaigned not as a man but as a Messiah. Does he really think we have forgotten that? HE is the one who rules by Executive Order, circumventing the other branches of government as a good tyrant would do. It was Obama who ordered schools to allow boys dressed as girls to have access to girl's bathrooms and showers - despite the fact that transvestites are not a protected class under Title IX. There was no court order or Congressional mandate, but he wanted it so he simply declared it. And he threatened schools with loss of funding AND endless lawsuits if they didn't obey his majestic Will. He has done this repeatedly, with illegal immigrants, with changes to laws - such as the deadlines in Obamacare - etc. Obama cares nary a wit about the Constitution or the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. He denies liberty, he denies the pursuit of happiness - which was a phrase meaning the right to pursue your own interests AND BE LEFT ALONE. He in fact denies Natural Law and the subsequent concept of inalienable rights, preferring to believe rights come from a purely social contract. What a liar this man is!)
That’s who we are. That’s our birthright – the capacity to shape our own destiny. That’s what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny and our GIs to liberate a continent. It’s what gave women the courage to reach for the ballot, and marchers to cross a bridge in Selma, and workers to organize and fight for better wages.
(Notice there is no mention of settling a hostile continent, resisting desperadoes and vicious aborigines, or fighting a Civil War to free slaves. Obama doesn't believe we should ever have settled America in the first place and he doesn't want us to remember that African Americans were not freed of their own efforts but that white people suffered, bled, and died for their salvation.)
America has never been about what one person says he’ll do for us. It’s always been about what can be achieved by us, together, through the hard, slow, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately enduring work of self-government.)
(!!!!! That was precisely his argument in 2008, that he was The Savior!)
And that’s what Hillary Clinton understands. She knows that this is a big, diverse country, and that most issues are rarely black and white. That even when you’re 100 percent right, getting things done requires compromise. That democracy doesn’t work if we constantly demonize each other. She knows that for progress to happen, we have to listen to each other, see ourselves in each other, fight for our principles but also fight to find common ground, no matter how elusive that may seem.
(Mr. Obama was a lawyer for ACORN before going into politics, and his primary duty was to steal votes. THAT'S Democracy for you! He won his first few elections by digging dirt on his opponents and forcing them out of the race so he was the only candidate, or the only one who had a chance. And don't tell me about comity; Obama's Justice Department refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers when they blocked the polling places in 2008 to prevent white people from voting. Democracy is only good when it favors him and his people.)
Hillary knows we can work through racial divides in this country when we realize the worry black parents feel when their son leaves the house isn’t so different than what a brave cop’s family feels when he puts on the blue and goes to work; that we can honor police and treat every community fairly. She knows that acknowledging problems that have festered for decades isn’t making race relations worse – it’s creating the possibility for people of good will to join and make things better.
(Funny; race relations have gotten worse since Mr. Obama took office. Hillary will follow the same path.)
Hillary knows we can insist on a lawful and orderly immigration system while still seeing striving students and their toiling parents as loving families, not criminals or rapists; families that came here for the same reasons our forebears came – to work, and study, and make a better life, in a place where we can talk and worship and love as we please. She knows their dream is quintessentially American, and the American Dream is something no wall will ever contain.
(Countless would-be immigrants have been denied entry over the centuries and Obama knows it. Also, there is a difference between a nation that is composed of empty pioneer land and one that is the third most populous nation on Earth, and while immigration may have been part of our heritage it doesn't mean unrestrained immigration can be maintained forever. Americans were all farmers in the past, too, but now few are. America was a manufacturing titan in the past but no more. Americans were mostly white in the past; I somehow doubt Mr. Obama would agree to returning to those days. Times change.
Oh, and Obama has stifled that "worship as we please" business on a number of occasions - such as his Obamacare forcing Catholic institutions to provide abortion services, or making Christian bakers bake gay wedding cakes.)
It can be frustrating, this business of democracy. Trust me, I know. Hillary knows, too. When the other side refuses to compromise, progress can stall. Supporters can grow impatient, and worry that you’re not trying hard enough; that you’ve maybe sold out.
(Uh, the other side has done nothing but compromise; it's why Trump is where he is at, Barry.)
But I promise you, when we keep at it; when we change enough minds; when we deliver enough votes, then progress does happen. Just ask the twenty million more people who have health care today. Just ask the Marine who proudly serves his country without hiding the husband he loves. Democracy works, but we gotta want it – not just during an election year, but all the days in between.)
(Change minds? You people lose every debate when it is fair. You aren't about changing minds but forcing things down America's throat. The ACA aka Obamacare was a straight partisan vote, and has never been popular. You didn't win the debate you strong-armed the opposition. Tyrant!)
So if you agree that there’s too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders’ supporters have been. We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done.
(Too much money in politics? Hillary Clinton has a mammoth war chest and has outspent Donald Trump by staggering amounts. To even bring this issue up is a shocking hypocrisy. Obama too; he originally pledged to take government funding for his 2008 campaign until he realized he could out raise John McCain, then he broke his pledge.)
If you want more justice in the justice system, then we’ve all got to vote – not just for a President, but for mayors, and sheriffs, and state’s attorneys, and state legislators. And we’ve got to work with police and protesters until laws and practices are changed.
If you want to fight climate change, we’ve got to engage not only young people on college campuses, but reach out to the coal miner who’s worried about taking care of his family, the single mom worried about gas prices.
(Like you did, Barry, when you promised to bankrupt the coal companies - and then delivered? St. Louis, where I live, lost Arch Coal and saw Peabody Energy in receivership - two major employers in the area. That was Obama's doings, or largely. And there has been no warming planet wide for nearly 20 years now. Sorry, but Climate Change is a computer extrapolation not backed up by on-the-ground data. Those coal miners lost their jobs over hot air that was not even hot.)
If you want to protect our kids and our cops from gun violence, we’ve got to get the vast majority of Americans, including gun owners, who agree on background checks to be just as vocal and determined as the gun lobby that blocks change through every funeral we hold. That’s how change will happen.
(Or maybe we should enforce existing gun laws, something this administration has failed repeatedly to do.)
Look, Hillary’s got her share of critics. She’s been caricatured by the right and by some folks on the left; accused of everything you can imagine – and some things you can’t. But she knows that’s what happens when you’re under a microscope for 40 years. She knows she’s made mistakes, just like I have; just like we all do. That’s what happens when we try. That’s what happens when you’re the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described – not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone "who is actually in the arena…who strives valiantly; who errs…[but] who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement.â€
Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena. She’s been there for us – even if we haven’t always noticed. And if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. America isn’t about "yes he will.†It’s about "yes we can.†And we’re going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that’s what the moment demands.
You know, there’s been a lot of talk in this campaign about what America’s lost – people who tell us that our way of life is being undermined by pernicious changes and dark forces beyond our control. They tell voters there’s a "real America†out there that must be restored. This isn’t an idea that started with Donald Trump. It’s been peddled by politicians for a long time – probably from the start of our Republic.
(And it's true; why are we having a fight with our government and liberals about "potty parity" for transgendered when they make up less then one tenth of one percent of the population? That proves there is a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario here in America. Where someone pees is no concern of the government. Yes, there is a real America, and Obama and Hillary are not it.)
And it’s got me thinking about the story I told you twelve years ago tonight, about my Kansas grandparents and the things they taught me when I was growing up. They came from the heartland; their ancestors began settling there about 200 years ago. They were Scotch-Irish mostly, farmers, teachers, ranch hands, pharmacists, oil rig workers. Hardy, small town folks. Some were Democrats, but a lot of them were Republicans. My grandparents explained that they didn’t like show-offs. They didn’t admire braggarts or bullies. They didn’t respect mean-spiritedness, or folks who were always looking for shortcuts in life. Instead, they valued traits like honesty and hard work. Kindness and courtesy. Humility; responsibility; helping each other out.
That’s what they believed in. True things. Things that last. The things we try to teach our kids.
(Obama also sneered at his white grandmother from Kansas as a "typical white person" meaning a biased, unthinking, uncaring dope. And his grandfather was on the F.B.I. watch list because of his close ties to the CPUSA and his friendship with the card carrying Communist Frank Marshall Davis. And Barack apparently learned little from them, as he is a monumental braggart - once claiming he needed no advisors because he knew more than any of them - and is clearly a bully of monumental proportions; he managed to unseal his opponent for the Senate in Illinois's divorce record and used the unsubstantiated allegations from his ex-wife against him in the campaign, forcing Mr. Ryan to drop out of the race. That is bullying on a profound scale.)
And what my grandparents understood was that these values weren’t limited to Kansas. They weren’t limited to small towns. These values could travel to Hawaii; even the other side of the world, where my mother would end up working to help poor women get a better life. They knew these values weren’t reserved for one race; they could be passed down to a half-Kenyan grandson, or a half-Asian granddaughter; in fact, they were the same values Michelle’s parents, the descendants of slaves, taught their own kids living in a bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. They knew these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke; a baseball cap or a hijab.
(Well, if these values draw so many immigrants why do you want to fundamentally remake America?)
America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me – they haven’t gone anywhere. They’re as strong as ever; still cherished by people of every party, every race, and every faith. They live on in each of us. What makes us American, what makes us patriots, is what’s in here. That’s what matters. That’s why we can take the food and music and holidays and styles of other countries, and blend it into something uniquely our own. That’s why we can attract strivers and entrepreneurs from around the globe to build new factories and create new industries here. That’s why our military can look the way it does, every shade of humanity, forged into common service. That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.
That’s America. Those bonds of affection; that common creed. We don’t fear the future; we shape it, embrace it, as one people, stronger together than we are on our own. That’s what Hillary Clinton understands – this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot – that’s the America she’s fighting for.
(Here is the subtle lie of the Democrats, the Progressives, and other liberals. America's strength is not in the absolute unity of our people but in the freedom to act outside of the collective. It has always been America's great strength, that we are free to chart our own course. Obama doesn't believe that, once claiming "if you have a business...You didn't build that" with the idea that, since society offers certain infrastructure it is society that actually built your business and not you. This is a very alien and destructive concept, one that fails miserably on the world stage. It is tribalism applied to a nation state. The countries that adopt this viewpoint generally see declining standards of living and wealth, because we are not herd animals and we value or independence and freedom. Those people in Kansas first and foremost treasure the independence of their ancestors.
There is value in teamwork but also value in individual action. When the team makes the individual subservient the individual stops innovating, stops producing, stops creating. Creativity never comes in bunches. Obama has just made the case for Republicanism, and he did it while touting the glories of collectivization.)
And that’s why I have confidence, as I leave this stage tonight, that the Democratic Party is in good hands. My time in this office hasn’t fixed everything; as much as we’ve done, there’s still so much I want to do. But for all the tough lessons I’ve had to learn; for all the places I’ve fallen short; I’ve told Hillary, and I’ll tell you what’s picked me back up, every single time.
It’s been you. The American people.
It’s the letter I keep on my wall from a survivor in Ohio who twice almost lost everything to cancer, but urged me to keep fighting for health care reform, even when the battle seemed lost. Do not quit.
(How about those who benefited from the services of the V.A.? Had that cancer survivor gotten the health care Obama wanted he or she would likely be dead now.)
It’s the painting I keep in my private office, a big-eyed, green owl, made by a seven year-old girl who was taken from us in Newtown, given to me by her parents so I wouldn’t forget – a reminder of all the parents who have turned their grief into action.
It’s the small business owner in Colorado who cut most of his own salary so he wouldn’t have to lay off any of his workers in the recession – because, he said, "that wouldn’t have been in the spirit of America.â€
(Many entrepreneurs underpay themselves or work for nothing to keep their staff employed. That is what a free market - something Obama despises - accomplishes. Raise the minimum wage, force employers to obey draconian regulations, and those workers will lose their jobs. This is an argument that destroys the Democrat's whole premise that free enterprise is evil and abusive.)
It’s the conservative in Texas who said he disagreed with me on everything, but appreciated that, like him, I try to be a good dad.
It’s the courage of the young soldier from Arizona who nearly died on the battlefield in Afghanistan, but who’s learned to speak and walk again – and earlier this year, stepped through the door of the Oval Office on his own power, to salute and shake my hand.
(If BHO really cared about such soldiers he would win wars and not keep them simmering everywhere - and not pull out to allow the evil people to make what these soldiers sacrificed meaningless.)
It’s every American who believed we could change this country for the better, so many of you who’d never been involved in politics, who picked up phones, and hit the streets, and used the internet in amazing new ways to make change happen. You are the best organizers on the planet, and I’m so proud of all the change you’ve made possible.
Time and again, you’ve picked me up. I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too. Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me. Because you’re who I was talking about twelve years ago, when I talked about hope – it’s been you who’ve fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; the audacity of hope!
(The Audacity of a Dope!)
America, you have vindicated that hope these past eight years. And now I’m ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. This year, in this election, I’m asking you to join me – to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what’s best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.
Thank you for this incredible journey. Let’s keep it going. God bless the United States of America.
(Obama has been the champion of cynism these past eight years. He has told us we need to reign in our expectations on so many fronts, that we need to use less energy, fewer resources. He has demanded we apologize to everyone for everything. He has made us accept the government in our lives to a degree never before seen. Pride and independence go hand-in-hand, and yet Obama has systematically destroyed our independence as individuals. He has roiled race relations. He has set one American at another's throat. He has weakened our military, using up our planes, or missiles, our tanks and guns and not replacing them. He has tried very hard to prevent our energy independence, killing coal and trying to stop hydraulic fracturing. He has systematically wiped out the family farm, allowing the government to take over land or forcing it sold to fat-cat speculators like George Soros. He has made us less safe, be it internationally or at home. He is the penultimate cynic.
How do we show we still believe in the promise of America when Obama never did, nor does Hillary?)
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