Twelve years after he first addressed a Democratic National Convention, and eight years after he became the first black presidential nominee of a major party, President Barack Obama cast the election to succeed him as a “fundamental choice.”

Speaking on the penultimate night of the convention, Obama made a forceful case for his former rival. He’s not likely to have an audience like this again as president, and Obama soaked in the cheers and chants of “Yes we did!” from a party that, despite its divisions, remains enthralled by his charisma and vision.


Before the speech, Obama’s aides had said that it would be more of a positive testimonial for Hillary Clinton than anything else. But Obama also delivered a passionate indictment of Donald Trump, casting him as a menace whose positions aren’t just on the other side of the political spectrum, but on a different spectrum all together.

This election, Obama said, is “not just a choice between parties or policies; the usual debates between left and right. This is a more fundamental choice — about who we are as a people, and whether we stay true to this great American experiment in self-government.”

While Trump has targeted the so-called Reagan Democrats, the downscale whites in suburban and rural strongholds, it was Obama who sought a Reagan moment. His upbeat speech was meant to be a burst of sunshine in contrast to Trump’s message in Cleveland, which Obama said was not so much Republican or even conservative, but a “pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other.”

Obama echoed Clinton’s message, that Trump is a strongman who describes problems without offering solutions: “The Donald, he’s not really a plans guy,” the president quipped.

“He’s betting that if he scares enough people, he might score just enough votes to win this election,” Obama said.

“That is another bet that Donald Trump will lose. Because he’s selling the American people short. We are not a fragile or frightful people. Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order. We don’t look to be ruled. Our power comes from those immortal declarations first put to paper right here in Philadelphia all those years ago: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’; that together, ‘We, the People, can form a more perfect union.’”

Of the current Democratic nominee, Obama said, “there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America.”

He added, as Bill Clinton leapt to his feet and roared a cheer, “I hope you don't mind, Bill, but I was just telling the truth, man.”

He reminded the crowd of how Hillary Clinton, his secretary of state, sat with him in the Situation Room and “forcefully” argued for him to go forward with the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.

“You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office,” he said. “Until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions.”

He added, “And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.”

Obama’s convention address was inspired by his 2004 message, about the culture and character that unites “red America” and “blue America.” But it also captured his more recent messages, especially his commencement addresses at Howard University and Rutgers, where he questioned the idea of the “good old days” and praised the course of American progress — incremental and halting though it may be.

“You know, there’s been a lot of talk in this campaign about what America’s lost — people who tell us that our way of life is being undermined by pernicious changes and dark forces beyond our control,” Obama said.

But Obama told the story of how his white ancestors passed on their values of humility, kindness and hard work through the generations, “so they could be passed down to a half-Kenyan grandson.”

“They knew these values were exactly what drew immigrants here, and they believed that the children of those immigrants were just as American as their own, whether they wore a cowboy hat or a yarmulke; a baseball cap or a hijab,” Obama continued.

And even as he publicly worried that Trump could win the election in an interview on Tuesday, acknowledging that he’s seen “all kinds of crazy stuff happen,” Obama predicted on Wednesday night that Trump would not prevail.

“America has changed over the years. But these values my grandparents taught me — they haven’t gone anywhere,” Obama said, later adding, “That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.”

Despite the exuberant reception for Obama, protests still raged outside the Wells Fargo Center, and speakers before Obama, including his former CIA director, had to talk over chants of “No more war.”

Obama full DNC remarks President Obama's full remarks at the DNC on Wednesday.

So Obama’s mission was also to help unite the party, and he told loyalists of Sen. Bernie Sanders to channel their energy.

“If you agree that there’s too much inequality in our economy, and too much money in our politics, we all need to be as vocal and as organized and as persistent as Bernie Sanders’ supporters have been,” Obama said. “We all need to get out and vote for Democrats up and down the ticket, and then hold them accountable until they get the job done.”

Even as Obama tried to stick to lofty ideas in his speech, there were clear signs that he’s taking Trump personally. When he talked about relatives who settled in the heartland 200 years ago, he went slightly off-script to refer to the “birther” conspiracy theory that Trump fueled.

“I don't know if they had their birth certificates, but they were there,” Obama said.

And the president also seems to be keeping up with @realDonaldTrump’s twitter feed. Obama highlighted the contrast between Reagan’s America as a “shining city on the Hill” and Trump’s view of a “divided crime scene.”

Obama beseeches America to reject Trump President Obama talks about Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Trump conjured that image just over a week ago, in his 140-character review of Obama’s statement about attacks on police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “He has no clue,” Trump said, and warned that things would only get worse.

Obama circled back to the message that launched his national political career as he acknowledged his was coming to an end, telling the crowd they had justified the “audacity” of his hope.

“America, you have vindicated that hope these past eight years,” he said. “And now I’m ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. This year, in this election, I’m asking you to join me — to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what’s best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.”

As roaring applause thundered throughout the arena, Obama delivered an early signoff to the White House, “Thank you for this incredible journey. Let’s keep it going. God bless the United States of America.”

With that, Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours” blared through the speakers. Clinton strode onto the stage. And the two embraced.

