BY ADEYEMI OSHUNRINADE
Call it a deconstruction of the conservative economic policies, it is all about facts, “arithmetic” he called it and when the numbers don’t add up, you know for sure it is a bad economic policy. That was the tone of former President Clinton’s speech last night as he made the case for Obama, in what many are now calling one of the best speeches he gave in his political career.
In the past, critiques have dubbed the former President as self-centered; many have given him the title of a politician who likes to talk about himself when given the opportunity to express his opinion about other candidates; and times without number he has been opposed for not declaring his true position on Mr. Obama. Last night, Mr. Clinton proved skeptics wrong when he fully endorsed Mr. Obama before the convention audience and America, for a second term in office.
So unique is the way Mr. Clinton chose to lay down the facts and then allow the audience and Americans at home to decide themselves, if they are better off today than they were four years ago when Obama took office. It was an impassioned plea on behalf of Mr. Obama, meant to disprove all arguments made by the opposition candidate and other speakers during the Republican National Convention. Warning on the Republicans taking back the White House Mr. Clinton, said “we can’t let that happen.”
While making a meticulously detailed case for the reelection of Mr. Obama, Mr. Clinton emphasized that “we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on the trickle down,” he did not fall short of reminding the crowd that even though, these are trying times, the nation will eventually bounce back to economic stability. He reminded voters of where we were coming from and the kind of economy Mr. Obama, inherited when he took office and how hard he worked to fix the problems.
Mr. Clinton referenced to his economic record while in office as an illustration of the magnitude of the economic woes inherited by Mr. Obama when he took charge in 2009. He said “President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did, no President, not me, not any of my predecessors, could have repaired all of the damage he found in just four years.” A move that is sure destined to give Mr. Obama a bounce among those who think he has not done enough since taking office.
The former President backed up his support of Mr. Obama with numbers and the gains of the Obama administration since taking office in 2009. He reminded people of how Mr. Obama secured the bailout funds to stabilize the economy, the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, his effort to lower the borrowing costs on student loans, the auto bailout and the healthcare law which Republicans are still fighting hard to repeal.
He expressed a sense of sincerity by reminding people there is still a long way to go; he said “Is the president satisfied? Of course not but are we better off than we were when he took office?” “The answer is yes,” he exclaimed to the roaring of the crowd that seemed to agree with every bit of what he said. Mr. Clinton reminded them of how the spirit of bipartisan cooperation is missing in Washington and characterized Mr. Obama as the leader who aimed to bring back that spirit by appointing Republicans cabinet secretaries in his administration and choosing his former political rival Joseph Biden, as Vice President.
To signify how much Mr. Obama had done to mend fences with his political rivals, Mr. Clinton, injected some humor by referencing to the fact that Mr. Obama even hired his wife Ms. Clinton as the Secretary of State. “Democracy does not have to be a blood sport,” he said. “It can be an honorable enterprise.” This of course, is in response to the aggressive opposition of the Obama administration by the GOP and the red-blue partisan rivalry that continues to plague Washington politics.
There is no doubt the former President made the case for Obama; how the opposition will react to the strong political language in Mr. Clinton’s speech may be a difficult task to overcome since Mr. Clinton was able to drive the message home that “If you want a you’re-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket. “If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility, a-we- are- all- in this- together society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”
Such a language is designed to put a nail in the coffin of the Romney campaign, by driving home the point that though times are rough, “we are all in this together is a better philosophy than you’re on your own,” since you’re on your own is what the Republican party stands for. By making the case for Obama, Mr. Clinton helped lay down the groundwork for the argument that the nation is better off with Mr. Obama reelected than having a Republican in the White House.
Dr. Adeyemi Oshunrinade [E. JD] is the author of ‘Wills law and Contests,’ ‘Constitutional Law-First Amendment,’ ‘Murder of Diplomacy’ and “SAVING LOVE’ a newly released work of fiction. Follow on Twitter @san070
Categories: Politics, U.S. Economy and Policies
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I also watched Bill Clinton’s speech. He is a smooth talker and is loved. I am sure his emphasis on the improvements Obama made vis a vis the problems he met is a good one. I hope Obama wins, even though the challenges are still there, i cant but wish him the best and i am eagerly waiting for his speech tonight.
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Agree with you Peter, Clinton is indeed a powerful force and he may have convinced many voters to reconsider their views of the incumbent. I do have my reservations, I voted for Obama last election but now think he could have done more to turn the page on unemployment; no doubt he got the country out of a serious deep but may have missed some point he did not prioritize the bailout funds properly, many graduates are unemployed and deep in college loan debt, he may have a hard time convincing some people though, majority believe Romney is not a match and has no good plan.
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