[P]HILADELPHIA — Capping a week of full-throated endorsements by a flurry of figures ranging from Bernie Sanders to Meryl Streep, Hillary Clinton made the case to America that she is a steady, trustworthy leader who will represent the needs of all Americans, from the working poor to the wealthy.
“I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans and independents,” Clinton declared. “For the struggling, the striving and the successful. For those who vote for me and those who don’t. For all Americans, together.”
Clinton indicted the rhetoric of Donald Trump, saying “powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart, bonds of trust and respect are fraying.”
Invoking the famous presidential quote of progressive stalwart Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Clinton declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
While Clinton has been plagued by polls showing many Americans don’t trust her, speakers throughout the Democratic National Convention have described her as a level-headed, honest leader who doesn’t back down. Convention organizers also looked to humanize her. A video that played before her speech highlighted her past work at the Children’s Defense Fund and for health care reform as first lady of the United States.
Clinton’s lengthy speech touched on a wide range of topics — from foreign policy to economic anxiety. Like President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday, Clinton directly reached out to the supporters of Bernie Sanders, saying the Vermont senator has “put economic and social justice issues front and center, where they belong.”
“I want you to know, I’ve heard you,” Clinton said in an appeal to Sanderistas. “Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That’s the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America. We wrote it together – now let’s go out there and make it happen together.”
Further looking to pick up the many young Sanders supporters, Clinton highlighted changes to her college tuition plan that she made to accommodate a proposal the Vermont senator pushed during the primary.
“Bernie Sanders and I will work together to make college tuition free for the middle class and debt-free for all,” Clinton promised. “We will also liberate millions of people who already have student debt.
In her introductory remarks, Chelsea Clinton also looked to portray her mother as a progressive leader.
“I’m voting for the progressive who will protect our planet from climate change and our communities from gun violence, who will reform our criminal justice system, and who believes that women’s rights are human rights, and LGBT rights are human rights, here at home and around the world,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, told the crowd, “She’s a progressive who gets thing done, and she has a real plan to give American workers the chance to share in the profits they create.”
Slight signs of party discord continued into the last night of the convention, with more than 100 Sanders delegates wearing glow-in-the-dark green T-shirts reading “Enough is enough.” The only Vermont delegate who wore a green shirt was Noah Detzer of White River Junction.
After the speech, Detzer said he still doesn’t “necessarily buy into [Clinton’s candidacy] 100 percent.
“It looks pretty good but her issue has always been following up very nice words with actions,” Detzer said. “So we will see if those legitimate actions follow through. I’m not saying I buy in yet, but I’m just saying ‘OK, it looks like we are taking baby steps.’”
A number Sanders supporters held signs reading “Jill not Hill,” a reference to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Others read, “No More War,” “Walk the Walk” and “liar.”
While the first few days of the convention highlighted progressive voices, Thursday’s speeches appealed to more moderate Republicans. Primetime speakers included members of the military, police officers and former staffers of Republican President Ronald Reagan.
As “USA!” chants reverberated through the hall during remarks by retired Gen. John Allen, a minority of Sanders delegates shouted, “No more war,” and a few held up peace signs.
“America will defeat ISIS and protect the homeland,” Allen said in his endorsement of Clinton. “America will honor our treaty obligations.”
One of the most well-received speeches of the day came from the Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP.
Barber told the crowd that Democrats must be the “moral defibrillator of our time,” and “we must shock this nation with the power of love.”
While there were a few interruptions from Sanders delegates, they were few and far between. The most vocal opposition came in the nosebleed section, as well as from the California delegation. And while a mass walkout was suggested, just a few Sanderistas left the arena as Clinton spoke. The Sanders campaign texted delegates before Clinton’s speech urging them not to walk out.
The Vermont senator watched Clinton’s speech from a private box, and congratulated her acceptance of the nomination on Twitter.
I congratulate @HillaryClinton on this historic achievement. We are stronger together.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 29, 2016
Clinton’s rhetoric often echoed themes Sanders sounded during the primary, and she frequently played up the historic nature of her candidacy as the first female to lead a major political party.
“When any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone,” Clinton said. “When there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit.”
Some Sanders delegates cheered, a few even held up signs reading “Clinton – Kaine.”
