PHILADELPHIA -- President Obama urged Americans to support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton here on Wednesday, praising her record on both domestic and foreign policy, among other things.
"If you're really concerned about pocketbook issues, then the choice isn't even close," he said. The president also praised Clinton for supporting the plan to go after Osama bin Laden, the architect of the 911 attacks.
Obama also reminded the enthusiastic crowd at the Democratic National Convention of a key accomplishment of his own presidency: the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "After a century of trying, we declared that healthcare in America is not a privilege for a few; it's a right for everybody," he said to loud applause.
The evening, the last one before Clinton makes her acceptance speech tomorrow, featured a line-up of star power politicians including one who pointedly told the crowd that he is not a Democrat.
But once again, it the entire evening was not a Valentine for Clinton.
In the early evening, a group of Sanders supporters, including nurses and a handful of high-profile celebrities such as Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover, protested what they said were more exclusionary DNC practices. The activists said that the DNC stopped Nina Turner, a former representative from Ohio, from giving a nomination speech for Sanders.
One activist, Sandy Reding, RN, a member of the National Nurses United union, told MedPage Today that the union supports Sanders' platform. "His values are nurses' values. One of them is social justice... if there's an injustice to one it's an injustice to all... We want to make sure that everyone is loved and everyone has a fair shake."
Meanwhile, inside the arena, Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords talked about Clinton's resolve.
Giffords walked onstage with a noticeable limp, a lasting reminder of the gunshot wound to the head she received in an attack from a gunman who attacked her as she met with constituents outside a grocery store.
"Hillary is tough. Hillary is courageous, she will fight to make our families safer," Giffords said to the audience, who gave her a standing ovation. "Speaking is difficult for me, but come January I want to say these two words: 'Madame President.'"
The audience gave a rousing response to vice president Joe Biden, who criticized Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. "Think about everything you learned as a child. How can there be pleasure in saying You're fired. He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break! That's a bunch of malarkey."
"This is a complicated and uncertain world we live in. The threats are too great. No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or been less prepared to deal with our national security," Biden continued. "We cannot let the a man who exploits our fears -- a mean who embraces the tactics of our enemies, the torture, the religious intolerance. We all know ... that's not who we are. It betrays our values. It alienates those who we need in fight against ISIS. We cannot elect a man who belittles our closest allies while embracing dictators like Putin. We cannot elect a man... who confuses bluster with strength. We simply cannot let that happen as Americans."
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said "There are times when I disagree with Hillary. But whatever our disagreements may be, I've come here to say: We must put them aside for the good of our country. And we must unite around the candidate who can defeat a dangerous demagogue."
Bloomberg who has been a Democrat and a Republican, and is now an independent, was the Clinton campaign's A-list envoy to independents and undecided voters.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the vice-presidential nominee, was one of the few speakers who mentioned healthcare on Wednesday. "Today, for my wife Anna and every strong woman in this country ... for every man and woman serving in our military ... and every senior citizen who hopes for a dignified retirement with healthcare and research to end diseases like Alzheimer's ... I humbly accept my party's nomination to be vice-president of the United States," Kaine said, to thunderous applause.
Before the evening began, several events outside the convention hall focused on the future of healthcare in America. At a morning briefing sponsored by The Washington Post, several speakers said they thought progress could be made on healthcare legislation, especially if Clinton was elected president.
"It may be a little counterintuitive, but I think there are some real possibilities here," especially if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is elected, said former senator Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), co-founder of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. "I could give you names of several Republicans who would say, 'Hillary and I could work together.'"
Earlier in the day, Democrats for Life held an awards luncheon downtown, paying tribute to one lawmaker while strategizing ways to expand their influence. "Being anti-abortion does not make you pro-life," said Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards (D), the keynote speaker. He explained that being pro-life also means providing support for women.
Asked by reporters his view of Kaine, Edwards said, "I see in him a lot of the things that I aspire to be." Kaine continues to personally oppose abortion, but on his Senate website, he says that "I support the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions ... The right way to [reduce abortions] is through education and access to health care and contraception rather than by restricting and criminalizing women's reproductive decisions. For that reason, I oppose efforts to weaken Roe v. Wade."
On the other hand, some group members didn't trust the pro-life credentials of the Republican candidates. "I'm convinced that Mike [Pence, the Republican vice-presidential candidate] is pro-life window dressing. He's a prop for a Trump administration, which will likely not deliver on their promises to pro-life people in the party," said Rev. Rob Schenck, (D-Minn), president and lead missionary of Faith and Action in the Nation's Capital, a Christian outreach group that lobbies Congress, who attended the luncheon. Schenck said he's not convinced Trump is pro-life "no matter what he says."
At an afternoon briefing sponsored by Americans United for Change, a left-leaning lobbying group, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning Washington think tank, and an adviser to Clinton, said that while the "first and foremost" duty in healthcare reform was to defend the ACA, there were many challenges ahead for the law, with costs for consumers being foremost -- "particularly costs that are driving healthcare inflation, like pharmaceutical costs."
Washington correspondent Shannon Firth contributed to this story.
Wondering why MedPage Today covers politics? See this explanation from Editor-in-Chief Peggy Peck.
DNC: Obama Makes the Case for Hillary Clinton
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