Bill Clinton says Obama is ready to be president

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

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President Clinton urged his wife's supporters to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Former President Clinton said Wednesday that Barack Obama was "ready to be president," after months of attacks from Hillary Clinton supporters on the Democratic nominee's lack of experience.

The 42nd president himself was a frequent critic of Obama's experience level.

"Last night Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she is going to do everything in her power to elect Barack Obama," Clinton said at the Democratic National Convention.

"That makes two of us -- actually that makes 18 million of us," he said, referring to the number of Democratic primary voters who backed Hillary Clinton.

Democrats Wednesday officially nominated Obama to be their candidate for president, making him the first African-American to lead a major party ticket.

Sen. Hillary Clinton motioned to cut the roll call short saying, "With eyes firmly fixed on the future, and in the spirit of unity with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together with one voice right here, right now that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president."

"Is there a second?" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California asked the crowd of more than 4,400 delegates.

Delegates then affirmed Obama as their choice with cheers, officially capping a long and hard-fought battle between Obama and Clinton.

Clinton released her delegates earlier in the day, freeing them to vote for Obama if they wanted to do so.

The roll call vote got the third night of the Democratic National Convention off to an energetic start.

The Democratic delegates were anticipating two big speeches scheduled for later in the evening -- one from former President Bill Clinton and one from newly tapped vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.

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The lineup of speakers for Wednesday evening -- with the theme of "Securing America's Future" -- features a roster of Democratic foreign policy and national security heavyweights.

Others who will speak on foreign policy include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Sens. Evan Bayh and Jack Reed, who are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee; New Mexico Gov. and former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson; retired Army Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy; and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth.

Bill Clinton is expected to speak before the convention shortly after 9 p.m. ET. Sources told CNN earlier this week that the former president was unhappy with his assigned speech topic for the convention, national security. He reportedly would have preferred to discuss the economy -- the issue that, more than anything else, helped propel him to the White House 16 years ago.

Biden will be leading the attack on Republican Sen. John McCain's foreign policy as he accepts his nomination as the vice presidential candidate. Biden is expected to outline why he believes McCain's and President Bush's worldviews have ignored the most dangerous threats facing the United States, said a Democratic source involved in crafting the speech for the six-term senator.

Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, widely is believed to have been chosen for the Democratic presidential ticket based on his foreign policy credentials.

Obama's perceived weakness compared to McCain on foreign policy and national security issues has been a concern to Democratic strategists, especially since Russia's conflict with Georgia intensified this month.

According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 78 percent of registered voters said they believe McCain can handle the responsibilities of commander in chief, while 58 percent said they thought Obama could shoulder those responsibilities.

The poll, conducted Saturday and Sunday, also found that 60 percent of voters said they believe McCain would better handle the issue of terrorism, whereas 36 percent have more faith in Obama. A majority also said it believes McCain is more likely than Obama to be a strong and decisive leader.

The vice presidential candidate also will focus heavily on his personal biography and Senate experience during his speech, the source said.

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