PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 8 (UPI) — In a next-to-last final rally of her campaign for president — there was one more in Raleigh, North Carolina, just after midnight — Hillary Clinton staged what felt like a passing of the baton from President Barack Obama in Philadelphia.
President Obama, like First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton before him, implored a crowd of 33,000 to keep Pennsylvania blue, protect Obama’s legacy and elect Hillary Clinton president on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania has emerged as a major battleground state in the election, with Clinton also speaking in Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon and Republican nominee Donald Trump in Scranton, and may help push either candidate over the hump on Tuesday night at the end of one of the nastiest elections in the history of the country.
The Obamas, President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton have criss-crossed the country for the last two weeks speaking on behalf of Clinton, who aims to defeat Trump and become the first woman to hold the office — a point not lost on Michelle Obama, whose husband made history as the first African-American elected president.
“We are one day away from once again making history,” Michelle Obama said. “Speaking here tonight is perhaps the last and most important thing I can do for my country as first lady… We have a duty to ensure that this country is handed over to a leader that we all can trust.”
President Obama touted his own historic election as well, questioning whether Trump is fit for office because he “lacks a basic understanding of the world” and comparing parts of the 2016 election to “a reality show or even a parody.”
“Tomorrow,” Obama said, “the choice you face when you step into that voting booth could not be more clear and could not be more serious.”
