Hillary: 'No way, no how, no McCain'
Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:04 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
DENVER, Colo -- Hillary Clinton kicked off her much-anticipated speech here at the Democratic National Convention with a call for unity and some sharp words for John McCain.
"I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud New York Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama," Clinton began.
"My friends, it is time to take back the country we love. ...Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win.
"I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.
"And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership.
"No way. No how. No McCain.
"Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President."
She later called McCain her "friend" who "has served our country with honor and courage. But we don't need four more years of the last eight years."
And she was just getting started.
"John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's okay when women don't earn equal pay for equal work.
"With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."
*** UPDATE *** The McCain campaign responded, seizing on Clinton not explicitly saying Obama was ready to be Commander-in-Chief: “Senator Clinton ran her presidential campaign making clear that Barack Obama is not prepared to lead as commander in chief," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "Nowhere tonight did she alter that assessment. Nowhere tonight did she say that Barack Obama is ready to lead. Millions of Hillary Clinton supporters and millions of Americans remain concerned about whether Barack Obama is ready to be President.”
