CONVENTIONS 2012

Clinton: Obama Has Earned Reelection

Updated: September 5, 2012 | 11:00 p.m.
September 5, 2012 | 6:04 p.m.

Former President Bill Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Former president Bill Clinton says Americans should vote for Obama if they want “shared prosperity.”

  • Clinton took on the bad-cop role at the Democratic convention with tough remarks about the Republican ticket and the financial crisis left to President Obama by the Bush administration.
  • In language more blunt than Obama is likely to use Thursday, Clinton said the GOP argument against Obama amounts to “We left him a total mess, he hasn't finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in.”
  • The former president made the case that, like him, Obama deserves two terms. He said Obama “put a floor under the crash, he began the long hard road to recovery, and laid the foundation for a modern, more well-balanced economy” that will produce new jobs, new businesses and new wealth.
  • People should vote Republican if they want a “you're-on-your-own, winner-take-all society,” Clinton said. He added, “If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility -- a we're-all-in-this-together society -- you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”

(See Bill Clinton's Speech: Full Text as Prepared)

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