CHARLOTTE, N.C.—President Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for a second term Thursday, urging voters to stay the course and let him finish the work he began four years ago of turning the economy around.
Speaking to over 20,000 delegates and supporters in a packed Time Warner Cable Arena, Obama assured the crowd that all the problems the country faces – from unemployment to the deficit to foreign threats – can be solved by continuing in the direction he has taken the country, but warned it will be difficult and timely.
“I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have,” Obama said. “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.”
Obama framed his re-election battle against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the “clearest choice of any time in a generation,” arguing that he would continue to fight for policies that benefit the middle class and small businesses, while his opponent would defend special interests and the wealthiest in society.
“On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties,” Obama said. “It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.”
Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke before Obama Thursday evening, used his nomination acceptance speech to provide an inside look at the moral compass that guided Obama on key issues through his first term, such as the auto bailout and the Osama bin Laden killing.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here to tell you, bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama,” Biden said. “And time and time again, I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and steel in his spine.”
Reflecting criticism commonly offered by Romney supporters, UW-Madison College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow said Thursday following the speech that after nearly four years, Obama’s agenda failed, meaning voters will take his speech with a grain of salt until he can deliver real results.
“Even though he’s a smooth talker, they’ve seen his policies haven’t worked out,” Snow said.
Originally, Democrats had planned a large outdoor rally at Bank of America Stadium to close out the convention Thursday, but due to weather concerns were forced to move the night’s proceedings to the much smaller Time Warner Cable Arena.
The move prevented thousands of Obama supporters the campaign had previously granted community credentials from watching the president’s speech in person. Obama personally apologized to the credential-holders denied access to the arena over a conference call earlier in the day.
