President Obama pleads for patience in second term
Barack Obama accepts the nomination to run for a second term as president of America, saying he “never said this journey would be easy”, but urging patience to weather the economic storm.
Speaking on the last night of the convention, President Obama told a crowd of 23,000 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, that they faced two different paths on a journey towards economic renewal – his or Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s.
He said: “I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy.
“You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades.
“But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.”
In an attempt to reflect the prevailing mood, the message of President Obama’s speech was interpreted as being more down to earth than his 2008 “hope and change” message.
Foreign policy
Nationally televised, the speech was his most high-profile attempt to connect with hundreds of millions of Americans in their homes.
He used the occassion to set out to clearly distinguish himself from Mr Romney, with whom he is neck and neck in the polls, emphasising his foreign policy credentials over his rivals’.
Dismissing Mr Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan as “new to foreign policy”, he criticised a comment that Mr Romney made that Russia is America’s biggest geopolitical foe.
He also chastised Mr Romney for criticising London’s handling of the Olympic Games when he visited them in July.
“You don’t call Russia our number one enemy – and not al-Qaeda – unless you’re still stuck in a cold war time warp,” the president said. “You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally.”
Important moment
However, he also presented November’s election as the most important facing the US in several decades.
He said: “When all is said and done – when you pick up that ballot to vote – you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace. Decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come.
“On every issue the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties. It will be a choice between two different paths for America.”
The speech was met with deafening applause and praise from his supporters.
Gary West, a delegate, said: “The Obama speech was fantastic, amazing. Exactly what he needed to do, he did.”
Gaylene Kanoyton, a delegate in Virginia, said: “It was magnificent, I’m ready to go to work, we’ve been working all year and we’re ready to go ahead and move this campaign forward so we can win in November.”
His speech followed one made by his Vice President Joe Biden, who highlighted President Obama’s support of the automotive bailout plan as a reason for his re-election. He said: “Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.”