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US POLITICS
DNC ... BILL CLINTON

USA TODAY: Full speech: Bill Clinton speaks at 2024 DNC


Original article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNHtMfDdHWk
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess
Full speech: Bill Clinton speaks at 2024 DNC | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

Aug 21, 2024

7.14M subscribers ... 118,155 views

#BillClinton #KamalaHarris #DNC

Former President Bill Clinton made the case for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over Donald Trump on Day 3 of the 2024 Democratic Convention.

#BillClinton #KamalaHarris #DNC Transcript
  • 0:00
  • to the Republicans and independents that
  • have joined us have been up here on the
  • stage and I hope they feel better about
  • it
  • now
  • because I've seen all these things
  • that even I have to be reminded of from
  • time to time when I get my spirits
  • down I love seeing the Obamas here I
  • love seeing President
  • Biden
  • and I thought Hillary gave a great
  • speech too and
  • uh I
  • love but I I love seeing all these young
  • leaders bunch of them are coming up
  • after
  • me they look better they sound better
  • and they'll be
  • [Music]
  • exciting I do want to say one word about
  • President Biden

  • 1:03
  • remember he had an
  • improbable
  • turn that made him
  • president and we were in the middle of a
  • pandemic and an economic
  • crash he healed our sick and put the
  • rest of us back to
  • work and
  • he strengthened our
  • alliances for peace and security he
  • stood up for Ukraine trying desperately
  • to get a ceasefire in the Middle
  • East and then he did something that's
  • really hard for a politician to do he
  • voluntarily gave up political power
  • and George Washington knew that and he

  • 2:02
  • did
  • it and he set the standard for us
  • serving two terms before it was
  • mandatory it helped his
  • legacy and it will enhance Joe Biden's
  • Legacy and
  • you and it's a stark
  • contrast to what goes on in the other
  • party so I want want to thank
  • him for his courage
  • compassion his class his service his
  • sacrifice Joe
  • Biden he kept the faith that and he's

  • 3:01
  • infected a lot of the rest of us now
  • let's cut to the
  • chase I am too old to Gil the
  • Lily two days ago I turned 78 the oldest
  • man in my family of four
  • generation and the only personal vanity
  • I want to assert is I'm still younger
  • than Donald Trump
  • last
  • night last night in what I thought was a
  • very
  • moving series of episodes we
  • nominated commel Harris and Tim Waltz
  • and just think about
  • that two
  • leaders with all Amer but still

  • 4:00
  • improbable life
  • stories It could only happen here their
  • careers after all started in community
  • courtrooms and
  • classrooms two leaders who spent a
  • lifetime getting the good job
  • done now one of the things that I've
  • noticed over my increasingly long life
  • that a is a a presidential election is
  • unique unique in several ways first of
  • all it's the greatest job interview for
  • the greatest job in the
  • world
  • secondly the Constitution says we the
  • people get to do the
  • hiring and the third thing
  • is that every four years we get to
  • change the requirements for the job

  • 5:03
  • so here's what I'm
  • thinking cuz I try to apply this in
  • every election will this
  • President take us backward or
  • forward will this
  • President give our kids a brighter
  • future
  • depends will this
  • President bring us together or tear us
  • apart will the president increase the
  • peace security and stability and freedom
  • that we enjoy and extend it to others as
  • we
  • can we the
  • people we have to make a decision about
  • these kind of
  • questions and every four years it's a
  • little different because the people come

  • 6:00
  • at the candidates come at the candidates
  • and they say as they're saying now here
  • are our
  • problems solve
  • them here are our
  • opportunities seize
  • them here are our
  • fears ease
  • them here are our
  • dreams help them come true
  • a president can answer that
  • call by
  • saying I'll do my part but you have to
  • help me we have to work
  • together
  • or you can dodge what needs to be done
  • by dividing distracting and diverting
  • us so in 2024 we got a pretty clear

  • 7:00
  • choice it seems to
  • me Comm Harris for the
  • people
  • and the other guy who's proved even more
  • than the first go
  • around that he's about me myself and I
  • I know which one I like better for our
  • country Comm Harris will work to solve
  • our problems seize our opportunities
  • ease our fears and make sure every
  • single
  • American however they
  • vote has a chance to chase their
  • dreams you know

  • 8:03
  • when she was young she worked at
  • McDonald's and she greeted every person
  • with that thousand wat smile and said
  • how can I help
  • you now she's at the Pinnacle of power
  • and she's still asking how can I help
  • you I will
  • be I'll be so
  • happy when she
  • actually enters the White House as
  • president because she will break my
  • record as the president who spent the
  • most time at
  • [Applause]
  • McDonald's
  • now but we got an election to win
  • and remember we've got a guy that's

  • 9:01
  • pretty good at what he does Donald Trump
  • has been a paragon of
  • consistency he's still dividing he's
  • still blaming he's still belittling
  • other people he creates chaos and then
  • he sort of curates
  • it as if it were precious
  • art let me
  • say not a single day goes
  • by even though I've been gone for well
  • over 23 years from the White House not a
  • day goes by that I don't thank the Lord
  • for the chance I had to serve and what
  • it
  • meant
  • and one of the
  • reasons thank you

  • 10:01
  • wait wait wait
  • wait one of the
  • reasons one of the reasons I love the
  • job so
  • much is that in the toughest
  • times even on the darkest days if you
  • tried hard enough there was always
  • something good you could do for somebody
  • else now
  • some days that's not easy to do You' got
  • to deal with all these emergencies or
  • there's something going on here there
  • yonder
  • but common
  • Harris is the only candidate in this
  • race who has the vision the experience
  • the
  • temperament the
  • will and yes the sheer
  • joy to get something done

  • 11:02
  • I mean look what does your opponent do
  • with his voice he mostly talks about
  • himself
  • right so the next time
  • you hear him don't count the
  • lies count the
  • eyes hey eyes
  • his vendettas his
  • Vengeance his complaints his
  • conspiracies he's like one of those
  • teners opening
  • up before he walks out on stage like I
  • did trying to get his lungs open by
  • saying me me me me me me
  • [Applause]

  • 12:01
  • when Cela Harris is President Every Day
  • will'll begin with youu you you
  • you
  • so we got to ask ourselves the questions
  • that we're going to hire a president Do
  • you want to build a strong economy from
  • the bottom up in the middle out or do
  • you want to spend the next four years
  • talking
  • about crowd
  • size you're going to have a hard time
  • believing this but so help me I triple
  • checked
  • it since the end of the Cold War in
  • 1989 America has created about 51
  • million new jobs

  • 13:03
  • I swear I checked this three times even
  • I couldn't believe it what's the score
  • Democrats 50 Republicans one
  • I'm
  • glad that we've got
  • a championship winning coach on our
  • team but even the
  • most limited of us in what we know about
  • football are eating other sport knows

  • 14:00
  • that if you're got 50 and the other
  • side's got one you're
  • ahead what about affordable housing it's
  • a terrible problem in America now we
  • need
  • more
  • and affordable health
  • care it's why the Democrats put a limit
  • on monthly payments for insulin and a
  • $2,000 a year out of pocket
  • limit and are trying to cover more drugs
  • by bargaining for
  • prices we need more financing for small
  • businesses we need still to strengthen
  • our
  • alliances I almost croaked in the first
  • debate
  • of this election

  • 15:01
  • season when President
  • Trump said nobody respected America
  • anymore like they did when he was
  • president wait wait and with a straight
  • [Applause]
  • face look you got to give him he's a
  • good actor with it with a straight face
  • he cited as evidence of the respect that
  • existed for us when he was
  • there the
  • presidents of North Korea and
  • Russia I'd rather have the people who
  • respect us
  • now and one of the
  • things one of the things is when you
  • send a signal
  • to the other

  • 16:01
  • countries you want them to
  • know whether they agree with you or not
  • at least that you're on the level that
  • here's where you are and what you
  • believe what are they supposed to make
  • to these endless tributes to the late
  • great Hannibal
  • [Applause]
  • Lector I mean president Obama once gave
  • me the great honor of saying I was the
  • explainer and chief folks I thought and
  • thought about it and I I don't know what
  • to
  • [Applause]
  • say like Hakeem Jeff I too want an
  • America that's more
  • joyful more inclusive more future folks
  • foced just think what a burden it's been

  • 17:03
  • on us to get up day after day after day
  • after day buried in meaningless hot
  • rhetoric when there's so many
  • opportunities out there so many problems
  • that need to be solved I want that and
  • that's the America KLA Harris will leave
  • she's already made her first
  • presidential
  • decision and she knocked it out of the
  • park when she asked Governor h w to be
  • her nominee for vice
  • president as they used to
  • say when I was a young man growing up in
  • Arkansas you do not have to be all broke

  • 18:00
  • out with
  • [Music]
  • Brilliance you just look at Tim W listen
  • to him follow his
  • record as a teacher as a coach in the
  • National
  • Guard is a
  • congressman where he was the only
  • Democrat save
  • one elected in that District in more
  • than a 100
  • years and he stayed a long time
  • and then he
  • became a great
  • governor
  • and by all accounts he was a
  • crackshot who had the
  • courage among his rural
  • constituents to say we do not need these
  • assault weapons available to people who
  • can kill our kids in school

  • 19:13
  • so armed with her first
  • decision kamla Harris
  • confronts an
  • interesting
  • dilemma we're going to walk out of here
  • feeling pretty good I think
  • [Applause]
  • we've got energy we are happy we feel
  • like a load's off our
  • shoulders and we know we're just being
  • asked to fight the same
  • fight that the forces of progress have
  • had to fight for 250
  • years in the face of stiff and often
  • violent opposition
  • we have to find a way to go forward

  • 20:03
  • together where we the
  • people make our Union more
  • perfect
  • so that's a good
  • thing how could we possibly lose KLA
  • Harris has fought for kids their whole
  • life that were left out and left behind
  • she's taken on gangs trafficking across
  • the
  • Border she's fought to protect the
  • rights of homeowners she's been our
  • leader in the fight for Reproductive
  • freedoms and we know a majority of the
  • American people are with us on
  • that and she's gained an invaluable
  • amount of experience as vice
  • president advancing our values and
  • interests around the
  • world she's she's already said she's
  • going to work really hard to make sure

  • 21:03
  • that no American working full-time lives
  • in poverty or has to worry about their
  • children living in
  • poverty he say that we got to make home
  • ownership an achievable dream for
  • everyone not just a
  • privilege she said
  • that it and this meant a lot to me that
  • she would protect everybody's right to
  • vote whether or not they voted for her
  • they were a Citizens and they deserved
  • the right to
  • vote the other day her opponent implied
  • that it's his P vot if people voted one
  • more
  • time they'd be able to rig it from now
  • on and they wouldn't have to vote again
  • you think
  • they're
  • kidding but I know a lot of these folks
  • and most of them are really good people
  • but some of them think that they are
  • bound to dominate America politically
  • economically and
  • socially and they have to use politics
  • to do it and they should rig the
  • system I I don't believe
  • that
  • and so here's what I want to tell
  • you we've seen more than one election
  • slip away from us when we
  • thought it couldn't happen when people
  • got distracted by phony
  • issues or overc
  • competent this is a brutal tough
  • business I want you to be happy

  • 23:00
  • one of the reasons
  • that president to be Harris is doing so
  • well as it we're all so
  • happy but you should never underestimate
  • your
  • adversary and these people are really
  • good at distracting us at triggering
  • doubt
  • at triggering buyers
  • remorse as the Obama said so eloquently
  • last night they are human you know
  • they're bound to make a mistake now and
  • then we got to be
  • tough and
  • so as somebody who spends a lot of
  • time in small towns and rural areas in
  • New York and arkans and other
  • places I I

  • 24:02
  • want I urge you to talk to all your
  • neighbors I urge you to meet people
  • where they
  • are I urge you not to demean them but
  • not to pretend you don't disagree with
  • them if you do treat them with respect
  • just the way you'd like them to treat
  • you
  • ask for their help and then follow our
  • leader camela and ask them how can I
  • help
  • you we Democrats right now have a lot of
  • hay in the barn we've got massive
  • achievements
  • massive
  • [Music]
  • advances but there's still a lot of
  • slips between the day and election day
  • that we have to

  • 25:01
  • navigate and
  • so I want to say this from the bottom of
  • my heart I have no
  • idea how many more of these I'll be able
  • to come to I started in 76 and I've been
  • to everyone
  • since but
  • no
  • 72 Lord I'm getting know but here's what
  • I want you to
  • know if you vote for this
  • team if you can get them
  • elected and let them bring in this
  • breath of fresh
  • air you will be proud of it for the rest
  • of your life your children will be proud
  • of it your grandchildren will be proud
  • of it

  • 26:10
  • take
  • it from a man who once had the honor to
  • be called in this convention the man
  • from
  • hope we
  • need we need camela Harris the president
  • of Geor Bo to lead
  • us
  • so I'll be doing my part you do yours
  • I'll see you when we're making a real
  • joyful noise noise when the votes are
  • counted God bless you and God bless
  • America


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