The week after Republicans picked their presidential nominee, the Democratic Party got together in Charlotte, N.C., to nominate U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for second terms in the White House. Though the highlight of the convention was definitely the rousing 48-minute address by former President Bill Clinton, Obama took the podium on the last night of the convention in a bid to convince voters that he should be re-elected. Here's an excerpt from that speech:
Now, our friends down in Tampa, at the Republican convention, were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right.
They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they had to offer is the same prescription they've had for the last thirty years:
"Have a surplus? Try a tax cut."
"Deficit too high? Try another."
"Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning."
Now, I've cut taxes for those who need it, middle-class families, small businesses. But I don't believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit. I don't believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China.
After all that we've been through, I don't believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home. We have been there, we've tried that, and we're not going back.
We are moving forward, America.
I won't pretend the path I'm offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear.
You elected me to tell you the truth.
Here are more highlights from the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
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