PHILADELPHIA — It was not exactly a Trumpesque “Make America Great Again,” but the top African American in the House said that the nation’s best days remain ahead, and he said that Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver them.
“Our nation is strong, but we can be stronger. Americans are good, but we can be better. America is great, but it can be greater,” said Rep. James Clyburn, the assistant House Democratic leader and an influential congressman from South Carolina.
Clyburn, a key Clinton ally, spoke before the Democratic National Convention the night delegates are to nominate for president the first woman in history and he said he felt a special tie because he has daughter and grand daughters.
“As the father of three daughters and grandfather of two adorable granddaughters, I am proud to stand before you as we prepare to offer the American people an opportunity to smash through the ultimate glass ceiling in our nation by nominating for president of the United States a person who is more qualified — by education and training, experience and temperament — than anyone who has ever offered for the job,” he said.
Clyburn impressed upon the convention that Clinton will battle for change. “If there’s one thing I know about Hillary Clinton it is this: She is a fighter. And she fights with her head and her heart,” he said.
It was a theme heard throughout the night.
Clyburn even compared Clinton to the some of the most important Americans ever. “John F. Kennedy challenged us to reach for the moon, and we did. Lyndon Baines Johnson courageously tackled poverty and inequality in America; his achievements continue to lift our communities and sustain our citizens. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed us to the mountaintop, and although we are not there yet, we are still climbing. And with President Hillary Clinton, America will rise even further,” he said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
