President Barack Obama said the nation must reject the message of fear and division being delivered by Republican Donald Trump and elect a candidate, Hillary Clinton, who has the vision and discipline to move the U.S. forward.
"America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump," Obama said in a closing address to the third night of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia."I'm asking you to join me — to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what's best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation."
Obama followed a host of the nation's top Democrats who sought to make their most forceful case yet for Clinton's election, extolling the former secretary of state's national security experience. They mixed fulsome endorsements of Clinton with barbs for her opponent.
Vice President Joe Biden mocked Trump's signature phrase from his reality television show to criticize him as having unbounded cynicism and lacking empathy and compassion.
"How can there be pleasure in saying, 'You're fired?"' said Biden, 73. "He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class? Give me a break, that's a bunch of malarkey."
Obama mixed tales of working alongside Clinton in the Situation Room and in foreign capitals with a call for unity within the Democratic Party.
"Nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office," Obama said. "Until you've sat at that desk, you don't know what it's like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary's been in the room; she's been part of those decisions."
'Bully Racist'
While criticism of Trump was mostly implied during the first two days of the convention, Wednesday night's speakers didn't hold back in their explicit attacks on the Republican nominee.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, 76, blasted him as "a hateful con man." Retired Admiral John Hutson called Trump "a walking, talking recruiting poster for terrorists." Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley called him a "bully racist."
Leon Panetta, a 78-year-old former congressman, CIA director and defense secretary, was among those who seized on Trump's remarks earlier in the day, in which he suggested that Russia hunt for e-mails deleted from Clinton's private server and expose them.
"Think about that for a moment," Panetta said, "Donald Trump, who wants to the president of the United States, is asking one of our adversaries to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States of America to affect our election."
Trump's campaign released a statement accusing Panetta of excusing "Clinton's enablement of foreign espionage with her illegal email scheme and her corrupt decision to then destroy those emails and dissemble [sic] her 'private' server to hide her crimes from the public and authorities."
The party's heavyweights sought to project unity at the convention, where a raucous opening day of protests by supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday gave way to a more orderly nomination for Clinton on Tuesday. Some of that was still in evidence Wednesday night when chants of "No more war" broke out in the Washington state delegation during Panetta's remarks and then spread to pockets across the arena in Philadelphia.
As the convention opened Wednesday, delegates quickly dispatched with one piece of business by approving Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's nomination as Clinton's running mate by acclamation. Kaine, 58, will deliver his acceptance speech later in the program.
The current vice president, Biden, appeared to take zeal in attacking Trump, drawing the convention crowd to its feet and garnering loud applause for his punchiest lines.
"No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security," Biden said. "We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears."
'Dangerous Demagogue'
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, said that while Clinton isn't a flawless candidate, voters need to select her over Trump, whom he called a "dangerous demagogue," for the good of the country.
Tump's failings as a businessman and proposals as a candidate would damage the economy, threaten retirement savings, increase debt and unemployment, erode U.S. power and make communities less safe, Bloomberg said.
"I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one," Bloomberg said. "The bottom line is: Trump is a risky, reckless and radical choice. And we can't afford to make that choice."
Bloomberg, 74, was elected mayor as a Republican in 2001 and 2005, and to a third term as an independent. He briefly considered running for president himself this year.
Trump Appeal
Trump provided Democrats with some fresh material for a discussion of national security matters. He made a strikingly unusual statement earlier Wednesday that Russian hackers should look for e-mails sent when Clinton was secretary of state that were deleted from her private server. He raised the idea in connection with a separate issue, the theft of Democratic National Committee e-mails by suspected Russian hackers, which has roiled the Democratic Party.
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing," he said during a news conference at his golf club in Florida.
Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan called Trump's remarks unprecedented and said his statements have "gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."
At the news conference, Trump faced questions about his possible links to Russia. His suggestion — essentially asking for Russia's espionage help to damage his political rival — played into plans by Democrats to portray him as someone who would be a dangerous leader, willing to upend decades of U.S. foreign policy. Trump also said that if elected "we'll be looking at" whether to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
Obama feels a duty to introduce Clinton to a broader audience, an administration officials said. Even though her name recognition is high, Americans don't know details about what she's accomplished and he wants to try to change that, the person said.
He argued that Clinton is best suited to build upon his legacy and help calm and unify a nation riven over a sluggish economy, as well as violence and unrest both domestic and foreign.
Twelve years to the day after his 2004 convention speech that launched him onto the national stage, Obama will have the opportunity to revisit the themes of national unity and bipartisanship that he embraced as a candidate for Senate in Illinois.