Heidi M. Przybyla

USA TODAY

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton's historic White House campaign came to a climactic close on the grounds of Independence Hall, the cradle of U.S. democracy, as she joined forces with President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton and an estimated crowd of more than 30,000 who turned out for the penultimate rally of the Democratic nominee's campaign that also included performances by Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.

Their speeches were part affirmation of Clinton's grit and qualifications and part warning of the unique dangers posed by a Donald Trump presidency.

"I’m betting America will reject the politics of resentment and the politics of blame," said President Obama. "I am betting that tomorrow you will reject fear and you’ll choose hope."

Clinton was given a final boost by the Obamas as the president's approval ratings were headed upward. She entered the campaign's final day before Americans go to the polls aiming to strike a positive note following a sharply divisive election season, emphasizing that she wants "to be the president for everybody."

“I think I have some work to do to bring the country together," she told reporters Monday morning in White Plains, N.Y., before embarking on a final day of campaign stops that would conclude with a late-night event in Raleigh, N.C. "I really do want to be the president for everybody — people who vote for me and people who vote against me," she added.

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In his Philadelphia speech, the president gave an impassioned defense of Clinton's character, saying the attacks against her were "like nothing we’ve ever seen before."

"I have had to bite my tongue about a lot of the nonsense people say about Hillary in this election," said Obama. "Most of the people saying this stuff don’t really believe it," he said, adding that many of her GOP antagonists lauded Clinton when she was secretary of State.

Clinton's final day on the campaign trail came one day after FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress announcing that the bureau's last-minute review of emails related to its investigation of her private server had concluded with no change in its recommendation against criminal charges.

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Following that announcement, her pivot toward a more positive message became more pronounced. Instead of spending the bulk of her stump speeches attacking Trump, Clinton’s emphasis focused more on her plans for green energy, infrastructure jobs, what she's calling the biggest jobs investment since World War II, and college affordability.

“My faith in our future has never been stronger,” Clinton told supporters in Cleveland on Sunday. In her Monday speeches, Clinton repeatedly called for more “love and kindness” in America.

“We will have some work to do to bring about healing and reconciliation after this election,” Clinton said.

Clinton and her surrogates are, however, also issuing a warning to Americans who may be considering not voting or casting a protest vote. At a Monday rally in Pittsburgh, Clinton said Trump has run a "negative, divisive, hateful campaign."

"Sometimes when I hear my opponent speak I don’t recognize the country he’s talking about," she said.

Michelle Obama, who introduced her husband in Philadelphia, said the election is a referendum on the politics of hate. "Tomorrow, with your vote, you can stand up to those who seek to divide us and make us afraid," she said. "We've got to get this done."

In between songs, Springsteen said Clinton has a vision “where everyone counts," while Trump exhibits “a profound lack of decency that would allow him to prioritize his own interests and ego before American democracy itself,” said Springsteen, adding "that’s unforgivable."

Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who challenged Trump on his rhetoric about minorities and immigrants in a Sunday speech in New Hampshire — and in an appearance at the July Democratic convention in Philadelphia — returned as the symbol of the values Clinton wanted to highlight in her closing argument. Khan's son died in Iraq in 2004.

“Would anyone who isn’t like you have a place in your America, Donald Trump?” Khan said Sunday before introducing Clinton to a couple thousand supporters in a hotel ballroom.

“Well thankfully, Mr. Trump, this isn’t your America,” Khan said to a roar of applause. “On Tuesday, we are going to prove America belongs to all of us.”

Clinton heads into Election Day favored, even as polls have shown a tightening race. She is aiming for a decisive victory as she looks ahead to the potential start of her administration, when a number of Republican congressional leaders have already signaled their intention to pursue additional investigations and to block whomever she nominates to the Supreme Court. They are "already promising even more unprecedented dysfunction in Washington," including more investigations and blocking Supreme Court nominees, said Obama.

In Pittsburgh, Clinton said the country is "on the path to see more Americans vote than we have ever seen in our history," citing reports of lengthy waiting times at polling places during early voting.

"If the lines are long tomorrow, please wait," she said.

It’s unclear how much Comey’s Sunday announcement will mitigate damage that may have already been done from his late October declaration that the FBI was reviewing a new tranche of emails related to its investigation.

Clinton's team is taking no chances, which accounts for the Democratic nominee's multiple stops in Michigan in the campaign's final stretch, a blue-leaning state the campaign had considered safe.

Michigan also has a large Muslim-American population that could help in the event of a close outcome.

In introducing Clinton in Manchester, Khan read an excerpt from a 26-page letter he said he recently received from a veteran nurse who served in Europe during World War II.

“Please keep reminding America what kind of America we want to be,” he read from the note.

As she set off for a final, daylong series of campaign stops Monday, Clinton signaled that, after a campaign marked by division, she remained hopeful.

"I think we will get a lot done, and I do think we will bring the country together," the Democratic nominee told reporters in New York.

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