Clinton: Obama 'burns for America'

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Former President Bill Clinton urged re-election of U.S. President Obama at the Democratic National Convention, saying he "burns for America on the inside."

As Clinton exited the stage Wednesday in the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., President Obama came out and shook his hand and clapped his back.

"You did a good job," Obama said.

"Thank you," Clinton said.

Clinton's campaign theme song, Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop," segued to "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as the two men left the stage.

Clinton began his speech to place Obama's name in nomination by saying, "We are here to nominate a president. And I've got one in mind.

"I want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside," Clinton said, "but who burns for America on the inside."

"I want Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States," Clinton said. "I proudly nominate him to be the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party."

Clinton used the Republican National Convention in Florida last week as a launch pad for criticizing the GOP platform.

"In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president's re-election was pretty simple and pretty snappy: We left him a total mess, he hasn't finished cleaning it up, so fire him and put us back in," Clinton said in his nearly 50-minute nominating speech.

"I like the argument for President Obama's re-election a lot better," Clinton said. "He inherited a deeply damaged economy, put a floor under the crash [and] began the long hard road to recovery."

Clinton acknowledged many people are still adversely affected by the economy even though it is on the road to recovery.

"Here's the challenge he faces," Clinton said. "A lot of Americans are still angry and frustrated about this economy. Too many people do not feel it yet."

There's no way any president could have "fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years," but Obama laid the foundation for a new, modern and successful economy, Clinton said.

"If you renew the president's contract, you will feel it," Clinton said. "With all my heart, I believe it."

Clinton said Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney have different perspectives on "what kind of country you want to live in."

"If you want a winner-take-all, you're-on-your-own society, you should support" the ticket of Romney and running mate Paul Ryan, Clinton said.

"If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities ... a we're-all-in-it-together society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden."

America has come back from every crisis it has faced for more than 200 years, Clinton said.

"We've come through every fire a little stronger and a little better. And we do it because, in the end, we decide to champion the cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor, the cause of forming a more perfect union," Clinton said in closing. "My fellow Americans, if that is what you want, if that is what you believe, you must vote and you must re-elect President Barack Obama."