'You should elect her because the greatest country on Earth has always been about tomorrow': Bill Clinton gets romantic about 'best friend' Hillary and blasts Trump in lengthy, unedited speech
Bill Clinton told story after story about meeting his wife, about their humble roots, and about her early work
'I married my best friend', he gushed, while speaking of their first mortgage payment being just $175 per month
Mentioned 'good times and bad' – but leaves out any Monica Lewinsky references
The Clintons now have two multi-million homes, and have been slammed during the campaign for making big bucks speeches to Goldman Sachs and other corporations
Took to the stage after a day of discord in Philadelphia which ended with Bernie Sanders supporters walking out
Sanders had interrupted the ceremonial roll call to ask for a vote by acclamation, declaring Mrs Clinton the nominee
Bill Clinton didn't let anyone see his speech in the run up, even guarding it from his wife's advisers
In the latest CNN/ORC national poll, out Monday, Mrs Clinton's unfavorables stood at 55 per cent
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.s. Political Editor In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, For Dailymail.com
Bill Clinton did his best to persuade Americans to embrace his wife and put another Clinton in the White House with a lengthy, folksy and unedited speech about their marriage and her success as a public servant.
After an election in which Mrs Clinton has been hammered by primary rival Bernie Sanders and by a bevy of Republicans for her ties to Wall Street, cast as an insider who would be business-as-usual, her husband deployed his famous gift for story telling describing over 42 minutes Mrs Clinton's steady transformation from a studious and standoffish classmate to a loving partner and political change-maker.
'She's been around a long time. She sure has. And she has sure been worth every single year she has put into making people's lives better,' Clinton told a cheering crowd inside the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.
'She always wants to move the ball forward - that is just who she is.'
He said Republicans had tried to cast his wife as 'a cartoon' – but saluted delegates by saying, 'Earlier today, you nominated the real one.'
Vouching for Mrs Clinton in a hall that includes many delegates whose frustration with the status quo prompted them to back a Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' call for a political revolution, Clinton said of his wife: 'She is still the best darned change maker I have ever known,' unleashing his familiar finger-wag.
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Just a night after Sanders bemoaned the wealth and power of the top tenth of a per cent, Clinton talked about his family's steady rise up the ladder from their time in Arkansas.
'We've done it in good times and bad, through joy and heartbreak,' Clinton told an attentive crowd – though he didn't get too much into specifics about some of their lowest points, such as his impeachment or the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
When Bill first spotted Hillary in the law library at Yale, he noticed her 'big blonde hair' and 'big glasses,' and that she wore no makeup.
'She exuded this strength and self-possession that I found magnetic,' he said
On a later encounter, she caught him staring at her. She 'came up to me and said look, if you're going to keep staring at me, and now I'm staring back, at least we ought to know each other's name. I'm Hillary Rodham, who are you?' Bill recounted.
He fished for previously revealed parts of her bio that showed working class appeal, such as the time, 'On a total lark she went alone to Alaska and spent some time sliming fish' at an Alaska cannery.
Clinton said his wife got her introduction to social justice from her Methodist youth minster, Don Jones.
He talked about the 1,100 square foot house the two of them first lived in together. 'We were married in that little house on October 11th, 1975,' Bill recalled.
Then he went through a litany of Halloween Parties and T-ball games.
He left out some less appealing aspects of their lives, like her work for corporate clients at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock. His discussion of housing stopped at the mansion the couple bought in Chappaqua after they left the White House, and the multimillion home they own off DC's Embassy Row.
The stories had as much to do with Mrs Clinton's character as her policy, after GOP delegates screamed 'lock her up' at the Republican convention, with constant invocations of Benghazi and Clinton's email scandal.
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Mrs Clinton's run for the Senate – described by rivals at the time as carpetbagging – cast her as a descendant of the party's left. Bill described the Senate seat as 'the seat held by another outsider – Robert Kennedy.'
The appeal appeared to work inside the hall, as the crowd listened intently to stories of how Clinton went from being a suburban student with an activist's impulses to the first woman in history to secure the nomination of a major political party – a feat Mrs Clinton achieved Tuesday.
Then Clinton, who forged perhaps the most coherent pitch of President Obama's reelciton in 2012 at a time when Obama himself struggled to articulate a message, took on the Republicans in discussing how they discuss his wife's time at the State Department.
'Now, how does this square? How does this square with the things that you heard at the Republican convention? What's the difference in what I told you and what they said? How do you square it? You can't. One is real, and one is made up,' he said, holding up a finger on each hand.
'You just have to decide which is which my fellow Americans. The real one had done more positive change-making before she was 30 than many public officials do people do in a lifetime in office,' he said.
In a line that seemed aimed at Sanders holdouts, he said: 'There are clear, achievable, affordable responses to our challenges. But we won't get to them if America makes the wrong choice in this election.'
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Near the end of this remarks, Clinton spoke to three issues that have roiled the primaries: illegal immigration, terror and religion, and relations between police and the communities they protect.
'If you love this country, you're workin' hard you're paying taxes and you're obeying the law, you should choose immigration reform over somebody wants to send you back,' he said, being careful not to urge non-citizens to vote.
'If you're a Muslim, and you love America and freedom and you hate terror, stay here and help us win and make a future together. We want you,' Clinton said.
'If you're a young African American, disillusioned and afraid, we saw in Dallas how great our police officers can be. Help us build a future where nobody's afraid to walk outside, including the people who wear blue to protect our future,' said Clinton, who has taken heat from Black Lives Matter protesters for his support for the 1994 crime bill.
Clinton, who themed his own 1996 reelection on building a 'bridge to the future,' said: 'The reason you should elect her is that in the greatest country on earth, we have always been about tomorrow. Your children and grandchildren will bless you if you do.'
When Clinton was done pitching his wife, Mrs Clinton herself got beamed into the hall via satellite, as her appearance got prefaced with a loud sound of a cracking 'glass ceiling.'
'Hello Philadelphia! I am so happy. It's been a great day and night. What an incredible honor you've given me. And I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet,' Clinton told the crowd from New York.
'Thanks to you and to everyone who's fought so hard to make this possible. This is really your victory. This is really your night. And 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. Thank you all! I can't wait to join you in Philadelphia. Thank you!'
Then the camera panned back to show Clinton celebrating with a room full of girls and young women.
Clinton entered the arena after a day of infighting and discord among Democratic members and delegates. Bernie Sanders showed up to the convention in person Tuesday night and moved to have Mrs Clinton named the nominee by acclamation after she had more than enough votes to win.
He joined his home state of Vermont, which passed the first time around in the roll call vote, for the history-making moment.
'I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates be reflected in the official record, and I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,' he said.
The gesture was to be a signal of unity and reconciliation during the fractured Democratic Convention.
His delegates, on the other hand, were not so moved to accept the result of the vote. A group of them left the arena in protest after Mrs Clinton officially won the nomination shouting, 'Walk out!'
Joshua ‘Fox’ Brown, a Sanders delegate from High Point, North Carolina, helped lead the walkout. He said he headed out right when Bernie started speaking.
'It’s one thing to lose honestly. We elected 49 Sanders delegates, he said, but only got 48 votes when North Carolina’s delegate votes came in. ‘That pledged delegate for Sanders in North Carolina flipped to Clinton. If a pledged delegate flips, obviously that’s against the rules.'
The pro-Bernie protesters exited the room silently. Outside the stadium they started chanting, ‘This is what democracy looks like.’
‘We’re not trying to get arrested,’ Brown said. 'But some people are clearly trying to plan for that,’ he added.
Nussaiba Baker, a Sanders at large delegate from California, said she marched out after she saw Secret Service agents moving – a sign the senator would speak for Mrs Clinton despite indications a deal had failed to take shape.
‘We knew Sanders was coming out, which meant he was probably going to hand over his delegates to Hillary. That’s not what we’re here for,’ she said.
She predicted that Black Lives Matter protesters would be the ones to interrupt Bill Clinton’s speech. ‘Bill has just said some really harsh things towards African American people,’ she said.
The walk out attracted the attention on Donald Trump. 'Many of Bernie's supporters have left the arena. Did Bernie go home and go to sleep?' he asked, reprising an attack he made on the 74-year-old senator earlier in the day.
Sanders delegates stood side-by-side with delegates belonging to Mrs Clinton as they formally cast their votes in the Democratic nomination process and bragged about their states.
The U.S. senator's 82-year-old brother made a special appearance on the floor to announce the pledged delegate vote from the Democrats Abroad voting block, causing Sanders and his wife Jane to well up.
Larry, a resident of the UK, gave a moving tribute to his baby brother 'Bernard.'
'I want to bring before this convention the names of our parents: Eli Sanders, Dorothy Glassberg Sanders,' Larry said, tears flowing. 'They did not have easy lives, and they died young. They would be immensely proud of their son and his accomplishments. They loved him.'
Sanders' camp said this afternoon that he would not officially nominate his formal rival to top the ticket. Spokesman Michael Briggs said it was 'possible' Sanders' home state of Vermont could move to make the vote unanimous after it has occurred, however.
Speculation began to mount as the state's turn came as to whether Sanders would give in.
Despite the assertion from Sanders' spokesman that he wouldn't give the Clinton camp what it wanted, a Vermont delegate said the state 'passes' - signaling that Sanders would take the high road at the end of the vote and formally throw in the towel.
Clinton's travelling press secretary graciously thanked him on Twitter. 'What Senator Sanders just did was pretty amazing. Class act. Thank you @BernieSanders.'
Retiring Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski - the first woman elected to the Senate in her own right - spoke on Mrs Clinton's behalf before the roll call vote along with Georgia Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.
'Our party, the Democratic Party, nominated and elected the first person of color to ever serve in the White House. Not just for one term, but for two terms,' Lewis said. 'Tonight, tonight on this night we will shatter that glass ceiling again. We, we are the party of tomorrow and we will build a true democracy in America.'
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Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard put Sanders' name up for nomination. 'Now my friends, because this is a movement fueled by love it can never be stopped or defeated,' she said.
'Now, on behalf of millions inspired by Aloha, determined to seek a future rooted in love, compassion and justice for all and dedicated to a government of the people, by the people and for the people I am truly honored to nominate Bernie Sanders for president of the United States.'
Vermont delegate Shyla Nelson seconded the call for Sanders to be considered.
'I have never felt the Bern more than I do in this moment,' she declared. 'Together we have worked to take our country back from the millionaires and billionaires.'
The political revolution worked to throw out the Citizens United Supreme Court decision 'and restore democracy to the people,' she said. Sanders supporters fought for a $15 minimum wage, debt- free college, 'climate justice' and the collapse of big banks.
'And for the man who launched this revolution, Sen. Bernie Sanders,' she said. 'So with pride, gratitude, optimism for the future we all build together I stand before you for the purposes of seconding the nomination of our friend and hero... Bernie Sanders.'
Two weeks ago after Sanders endorsed Mrs Clinton at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Nelson told DailyMail.com she hadn't decided whether she would follow suit.
'Hillary has a credibility problem,' Nelson said at the time. She said the U.S. senator needs to 'address in a fundamental way' the issues Sanders campaigned on in the primary in order to 'earn the trust' of Sanders supporters.
Nelson said that 'on every issue' Clinton still has work to do.
Many Sanders backers at that event, and at the Democratic convention, shared the same view.
They stormed the media filing center after the walk out and staged a sit in.
Sanders told his delegates Tuesday morning to treat party officials with 'respect' during the roll call vote but said they should be allowed to give him their support if they want to.
Hunger Games actress Elizabeth Banks, Ugly Betty star America Ferrera and Girls creator Lena Dunham bashed Trump. Banks kicked off night by likening Trump to her character Effie Trinket. She said Trinket was 'a cruel, out-of-touch reality TV star who wears insane wigs while delivering long-winded speeches to a violent dystopia.'
'So when I tuned into Cleveland last week, I was like, "Hey, that's my act!"' Banks said.
'You know, part of me really likes being up here joking around, but the other part knows this election is too important for jokes. Because when I think about what this election means for America, I think about my family.'
Dunham and Ferrera walked onto stage hand-in-hand before introducing themselves, taking the opportunity to raise what they believe are Trump's thoughts on women and immigrants.
'I'm Lena Dunham and according to Donald Trump my body is probably like a two,' Dunham quipped.
'I'm America Ferrera and according to Donald Trump I'm probably a rapist,' Ferrera, the daughter of Honduran immigrants, added.
And Howard Dean - the former Vermont governor and presidential candidate - is revisiting what's become known as 'Dean Scream'.
Dean said with gusto at the Democratic National Convention that the presidential race will be won in 'Colorado and Iowa and North Carolina and Michigan and Florida and Ohio and Pennsylvania'.
The crowd roared as he said they would take it 'all the way to Washington, D.C.'
Dean delivered a fiery speech on the night of his third-place finish in the 2004 Iowa caucuses. At the time, Dean pledged to campaign across the nation.
He wrapped up his speech with a defiant shriek. A video of the address got unending play on cable television and provided fodder for comedians to lampoon.
Meanwhile on a more serious note, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner and Jordan Davis and more have delivered one of the most powerful speeches at the Democratic convention.
The grieving parents walked on stage together as Mothers of the Movement - a group who have been campaigning against gun violence and racism at the hands of police since the deaths of their children.
They all urged voters to back Mrs Clinton, as she 'isn't afraid to say Black Lives Matter'.
