Barack Obama with Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Democrats to carry onetime rival Hillary Clinton to victory in November as America’s first woman president, while savaging her Republican opponent Donald Trump for fueling hate and division.

The two-term president rallied his party’s faithful at their national convention, offering a comprehensive endorsement of his first secretary of state as the one person uniquely qualified to succeed him.

At the end of his powerful 45-minute speech, Clinton joined him on stage, prompting deafening cheers from the thousands of convention delegates and guests packed into a Philadelphia sports arena to hear the president’s address.

To the strains of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” Obama shared a warm embrace with his would-be successor, capping an all-star night that included appearances by Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine and independent Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

“I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman — not me, not Bill (Clinton), nobody — more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America,” Obama said.

The convention formally anointed Clinton on Tuesday as the Democratic nominee, who will now go up against Trump in the November 8 election.

Obama also proclaimed his evergreen optimism about the future of America, while denouncing deep Republican pessimism which he warned was fanning resentment and hate during the 2016 election cycle.

“I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before,” Obama told the audience.

At the Republican convention last week that nominated Trump, “there were no serious solutions to pressing problems — just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger and hate,” he said.

Obama belittled the Republican flagbearer as having no economic or foreign policy plans.

“Not really a facts guy either,” he sneered.

“Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? If so, you should vote for him,” Obama said.

Source From : ndtv.com