Odishatv Bureau
Charlotte: Former US President Bill Clinton today took the stage at the Democratic National Convention here to make a passionate plea to Americans to re-elect Barack Obama, saying he needs four more years to clean up the "mess" left behind by the Republicans.

Lending his dazzle to Obama`s re-election efforts, Clinton speaking directly to the American electorate said he believes "with all my heart" that the incumbent was leading a remarkable, if incomplete revival.

"In Tampa the Republican argument against the President`s re-election was pretty simple: We left him a total mess, he hasn`t finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in," he said in his 48-minute rousing prime-time speech.

"We are going to keep President Obama on the job!" Clinton said amidst laud applause and cheer from the audience.

The two-time president shared the dais with Obama and later proposed his name for renomination as Democratic candidate, saying the incumbent was cool on the outside but "burns for America" inside.

"I want to nominate a man cool on the outside but burning for America on the inside. A man who believes we can build a new American Dream economy driven by innovation and creativity, education and cooperation. A man who had the good sense to marry Michelle Obama," he said.

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

Clinton`s nomination of 51-year-old Obama as the Democratic candidate was approved by the party`s delegates at the convention. Obama faces Republican Mitt Romney in the November 6 presidential elections.

He also had a word of praise for his wife Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was not present at the convention.

"I`m so proud of her and grateful to our entire national security team for all they`ve done to make us safer and stronger and to build a world with more partners and fewer enemies," Clinton said.

Clinton praised Obama for appointing Hillary as his cabinet colleague who bitterly fought against him during the 2008 primaries.

"He appointed Cabinet members who supported Hillary in the primaries. Heck, he even appointed Hillary!" Clinton said amidst another round of applause and cheer from the audience.

Obama, who is running neck to neck with his Republican challenger Mitt Romney for November presidential elections, political pundits say, is banking on Clinton to give him the much needed edge over Romney in the days to come.

Clinton is still considered to be the most popular Democratic leader with his approval rating above 70 per cent.

He strongly praised the track record of Obama and said that the country needs Obama for another four years. "The most important question is, what kind of country do you want to live in?" he asked the audience.

"If you want a you`re-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket.If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility - a we`re-all-in-this-together society - you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden," said the former US President.

"I like the argument for President Obama`s re-election a lot better. He inherited a deeply damaged economy, put a floor under the crash, began the long hard road to recovery, and laid the foundation for a more modern, more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs, vibrant new businesses, and lots of new wealth," Clinton said.

"Are we where we want to be? No. Is the President satisfied? No. Are we better off than we were when he took office, with an economy in free fall, losing 750,000 jobs a month. The answer is YES," he said, referring to the high unemployment which is hovering at 8.3 per cent.

"President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did. No President not me or any of my predecessors could have repaired all the damage in just four years. But conditions are improving and if you`ll renew the President`s contract you will feel it. I believe that with all my heart," he added.

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