Warning fellow-Americans on the dangers of electing a divisive and unsteady Donald Trump, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has vowed to be a great unifier with a positive agenda for all and outlined an upbeat vision for her country in sharp contrast to the dark forebodings projected by her Republican rival.
In her acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia on Thursday night, Clinton came down hard on Trump, questioning his competence and temperament to be the Commander-in-Chief. “Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons,” she said.
Saying her fear-mongering rival “wants to divide us from the rest of the world and from each other”, Clinton rejected his extreme prescriptions including building a wall along the border with Mexico, deporting millions of undocumented immigrants and ordering a temporary ban on the entry of Muslims into the country.
“We will not build a wall. Instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good paying job can get one. And we’ll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy,” she said, adding: “We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight terrorism.”
The 68-year-old Clinton, who has been in the national spotlight for the past 25 years as First lady, Senator and Secretary of State, proceeded nonetheless to reintroduce herself to her countrymen against the backdrop of questions on her trustworthiness and a high unfavourable rating matched only by that of her Republican rival.
Fondly watched by her husband and former President Bill Clinton, after an introduction by daughter Chelsea, Hillary Clinton sought to expand her appeal beyond the Democratic base by reaching out to Republicans unhappy with Trump’s candidacy and the narrow segment of undecided independents that mostly determines the fate of US presidential elections.
More importantly, faced with the disaffection in her own party since a good chunk of supporters of defeated primary rival Bernie Sanders are still holding out, Clinton reassured them that key issues espoused by him have been adopted by the party platform and making the point that it’s now for all Democrats to go out there and make it happen together.
“America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying,” Clinton said as she kept the focus of her most important political speech to date on Trump who “wants us to fear the future and fear each other”.
If last week’s Republican convention had gone all out to tarnish her, the Democratic convention ended up doing much the same — trashing Trump on a broad front. Clinton attacked his sales pitch of putting “America First”, exposing the goings-on at his own corporate empire – with ties imported from China, suits from Mexico, furniture from Turkey and picture frames from India.
Challenging Trump’s contention that he alone can fix the ills afflicting America and yet offering no specific solutions, Clinton flaunted her “love Trumps Hate” and “Stronger Together” messages and announced: “So it is with humility, determination and boundless confidence in America’s promise that I accept your nomination for President of the United States.”
“My primary mission as President will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States,” she said, adding that in her first 100 days, she will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small business, and infrastructure.
On the sensitive issue of immigration reform, she promised a new push for a comprehensive package that will “grow our economy and keep families together”. Rejecting Trump’s plan for tougher immigration laws, she commented: “When we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to kick them out.”
On the issue of outsourcing, Clinton warned American corporations, saying: “If companies take tax breaks and then ship jobs overseas, we’ll make them pay us back. And we’ll put that money to work where it belongs — creating jobs here at home.”
As part of her outreach to Sanders and his supporters, Clinton also promised to reject “unfair trade deals” and go after Wall Street, corporations and the super-rich to start paying their fair share of taxes, remarking: “Wall Street can never, ever be allowed to wreck Main Street again.”