Obama makes the case for Biden — and democracy – in passionate DNC address

They spent eight years together in the White House, and former President Barack Obama considers Joe Biden to be more than his vice president — he's "a brother."

In a spirited speech delivered during night three of the Democratic National Convention, Obama made it clear that these are not "normal" times, and he aimed to "talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come."

President Trump, Obama said, has "shown no interest in putting in the work" that comes along with being a successful leader, and has "no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves." In contrast, Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), "actually care about every American and they care deeply about this democracy," Obama said.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Biden and Harris have "concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality," Obama said, before delving into several major events that Biden guided the country through. Biden helped manage the response to the H1N1 pandemic and his leadership helped "prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores," Obama said, and he will use the knowledge he gained following the Great Recession "to rescue the economy."

Biden and Harris both care "deeply about this democracy," and believe that the "right to vote is scared, and you should be making it easier for people to cast their ballots, not harder." Obama encouraged people to come up with a voting plan to ensure that their voices are heard in November, and called on young Americans to not let their frustrations with the messiness of politics keep them from the polls. "You can give our democracy new meaning," he said. "You can take it to a better place. You're the missing ingredient — the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed."