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Clinton
steps
into
history
as 1st
woman
White
House
nominee
By JULIE
PACE and
CATHERINE
LUCEY
Associated
Press
PHILADELPHIA
- Taking
her
place in
history,
Hillary
Clinton
on
Tuesday
night
will
become
the
first
woman to
lead a
major
party
toward
the
White
House, a
triumphant
moment
for
Democrats
to
relish
before
plunging
into a
bruising
general
election
against
Republican
Donald
Trump.
After
the roll
call of
states
formalizing
Clinton's
nomination,
former
President
Bill
Clinton
will
take the
stage
for a
history-making
appearance
of his
own at
the
Democratic
convention.
Former
presidents
often
vouch
for
their
potential
successors,
but
never
before
has that
candidate
also
been a
spouse.
Clinton's
campaign
hopes
the
night of
achievement,
personal
stories
and
praise
can chip
away at
the deep
distrust
many
voters,
including
some
Democrats,
have of
the
former
secretary
of
state,
senator
and
first
lady.
Much of
the
convention's
second
night
will be
devoted
to
introducing
voters
to
Clinton
anew,
including
three
hours of
speakers
who will
highlight
issues
she has
championed
for
years,
including
health
care and
advocacy
for
children
and
families.
"Tonight
we will
make
history,
about
100
years in
the
making,"
said
Karen
Finney,
a senior
adviser
for
Clinton's
campaign.
"What
we're
really
going to
focus on
tonight
is
telling
that
story,
and
telling
her
story,
talking
about
the
fights
of her
life."
The
stories
will be
told be
told by
a long
list of
lawmakers,
celebrities
and
advocates.
Among
those
pledging
support
for
Clinton
will be
the
"mothers
of the
movement"
-
several
black
women
whose
children
were
victims
of gun
violence.
Clinton
has met
privately
with the
mothers
and held
events
with
them,
and
they've
become
an
emotional
force
for her
campaign.
By
night's
end, the
Clinton
campaign
hopes to
have
moved
past the
dissent
that
somewhat
tarnished
the
convention's
opening
day.
Supporters
of
Bernie
Sanders,
Clinton's
primary
rival,
repeatedly
interrupted
the
proceedings
with
boos and
chants
of
"Bernie."
Sanders
has
implored
his
supporters
to not
protest
during
the
convention,
but he's
struggled
to
control
his
energized
backers.
Several
hundred
people
gathered
at
Philadelphia's
City
Hall
under a
blazing
sun
Tuesday
chanting
"Bernie
or
bust."
The
morning
after
his
rousing
endorsement
of
Clinton
at the
convention,
Sanders
himself
was
booed as
he
arrived
for a
breakfast
with
California
delegates.
"It is
easy to
boo,"
Sanders
said in
response.
"But it
is
harder
to look
your
kids in
the face
who
would be
living
under a
Donald
Trump
presidency."
Trump
cheered
the
disruptions
from the
campaign
trail.
In North
Carolina
on
Tuesday,
he told
a
convention
of the
Veterans
of
Foreign
Wars
that,
"our
politicians
have
totally
failed
you."
When
Trump
mentioned
Clinton's
name,
the
group
answered
with
shouts
of "Lock
her up!"
an echo
of the
chants
at last
week's
Republican
convention.
Trump
has been
a
frequent
target
at the
Democratic
gathering,
where
several
videos
featured
his
comments
about
women
and the
disabled,
and
tried to
discredit
the real
estate
mogul's
business
record.
But
unlike
the GOP
convention
in
Cleveland,
Democratic
speakers
made a
concerted
effort
to mix
the
criticism
with
upbeat
remarks
about
the
nation
and
their
party.
First
lady
Michelle
Obama
was a
star of
opening
night,
making
an
impassioned
case for
Clinton
as the
only
candidate
in the
presidential
race
worthy
of being
a role
model
for the
nation's
children.
President
Barack
Obama
and Vice
President
Joe
Biden
will
speak
Wednesday,
along
with
Virginia
Sen. Tim
Kaine,
Clinton's
new
running
mate.
Bill
Clinton
has the
spotlight
Tuesday
night.
The
former
president
has
campaigned
frequently
for his
wife
during
the
White
House
race,
but
mostly
in
smaller
cities
and
towns,
part of
an
effort
by the
campaign
to keep
him in a
more
behind-the-scenes
role.
During
Hillary
Clinton's
first
presidential
campaign
in 2008,
her
husband
angered
some
Democrats
with
dismissive
comments
about
Obama.
He's had
flashes
of
frustration
this
year,
particularly
when his
own
record
on trade
and law
enforcement
has been
challenged
by the
party he
once
led, but
has
largely
stuck to
the
campaign's
messages.
Allies
say the
former
president
understands
his
mission
- to
promote
his
wife's
experience
and
personal
qualities,
not
relive
his own
presidency.
The
stakes
for Bill
Clinton
are
particularly
high
following
his
much-criticized
decision
to meet
privately
with
Attorney
General
Loretta
Lynch in
the
middle
of the
FBI's
investigation
into his
wife's
email
use at
the
State
Department.
The roll
call
this
year,
when
each
state
announces
its
delegate
totals
from the
primary
season,
will
affirm a
nomination
Clinton
locked
up weeks
ago.
Maryland
Sen.
Barbara
Mikulski,
the
longest-serving
woman in
Congress,
will
submit
Clinton's
name to
kick off
the
ritual.
It was
unclear
whether
Sanders
would
interrupt
the
process
to ask
that
Clinton's
nomination
be
approved
by
acclamation.
That's
what she
did on
Obama's
behalf
in 2008
to
indicate
their
rivalry
was
truly
over.
Sanders
suggested
Tuesday
he
wouldn't
rush to
make
that
gesture
early,
mindful
that
cutting
off his
restive
voters
could
cause an
outcry.
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