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The Indiana Daily Student

Former president Bill Clinton humanizes Hillary

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PHILADELPHIA Bill Clinton added something different to Hillary’s campaign — the human element.

Like so many speakers before him, the former president listed the democratic nominee’s lengthy resume.

But he did what only a husband can do — he footnoted the resume with anecdotes of Hillary as a wife, a mother and a 
daughter.

Starting in 1971 at Yale, the 42nd president addressed the crowd with a simple line, “I met a girl.”

He then proceeded to weave the former secretary of state’s professional career achievements with personal stories of cross-country moves, the birth of their daughter and many, many 
elections.

Unlike the 2008 election, the Clinton campaign has emphasized her likeability by speaking from the perspective of a mother and grandmother rather than strictly a politician.

“Hillary, first and foremost was a mother,” her husband said. “She became, as she often said, our family’s designated worrier.”

Bill’s speech circled around his wife’s career milestones from her undercover investigation into segregated southern schools in the 1970’s to her ongoing advocacy for women’s health around the globe.

“She’s the best darn changemaker I’ve ever met in my whole entire life,” Bill said about his wife.

He compared the Democratic candidate with the Republican candidate and said one was real and one was fake. He characterized Republican nominee Donald Trump as a two-dimensional cartoon.

“Good for you, because earlier today you nominated the real one,” he said to the Democratic Party.

Clinton passed the 2,383-vote threshold during Tuesday afternoon’s roll call, making her the official Democratic nominee.

The roll call proceeded without an announcement but Hillary logo signs were passed out to delegates and media.

Roll call, which is normally organized alphabetically, ended on Vermont. The home state of Sen. Bernie Sanders pledged 22 to the senator and four to Clinton. Sanders took the mic and moved that the convention suspend the procedural rules and the nomination be moved to a voice vote.

“I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for the president of the United States,” Sanders said.

The response was met with an eruption of cheers followed by representative Marcia Fudge addressing the delegates.

“Is there a second?” Fudge said.

The Wells Fargo Center echoed with a unified “aye.”

In that moment history was made and Hillary became the first female candidate to become a presidential nominee for a major political party.

Hillary will give a formal acceptance speech on the last night of the convention July 28. To close the July 26 proceedings, a video of portraits of all of the former presidents flashed through before glass was shattered with Hillary’s picture 
behind it.

From New York, Hillary thanked the party for her nomination through a video message.

“If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say, I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next,” she said.

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