We embrace it as one people. Stronger together than we are on our own. Thats what Hillary Clinton understands. This fighter, this stateswoman, this mother and grandmother, this public servant, this patriot, thats the america shes fighting for. And that is why i have confidence as i leave this stage tonight that the Democratic Party is in good hands. My time in this office, it hasnt fixed everything. As much as weve done, theres still so much i want to do. But for all the tough lessons ive had to learn, for all the places where ive fallen short, ive told hillary and ill tell you whats picked me back up every single time, its been you. The american people. Its the letter i keep on my wall from a survivor in ohio who twice almost lost everything to cancer but urged me to keep fighting for health care reform, even when the battle seemed lost. Do not quit. Its the painting i keep in my private office, a bigeyed green owl with blue wings made by a 7yearold girl who was taken from us in newtown, given to me by her parents so i wouldnt forget. A reminder of all the parents who have turned their grief into action. Its the Small Business owner in colorado who cut most of his own salary so he wouldnt have to layoff any of his workers in the recession, because, he said, that wouldnt have been in the spirit of america. Its the conservative in texas who said he disagreed with me on everything, but he appreciated that like him, i try to be a good dad. Its the courage of the young soldier from arizona who nearly died on the battlefield in afghanistan, but who has learned to speak again and walk again. And earlier this year stepped through the door of the oval office on his own power to salute and shake my hand. It is every american who believes we can change this country for the better. So many of you who have never been involved in politics, who picked up phones and hit the streets and used the internet in amazing new ways that i didnt really understand, but made change happen. You are the best organizers on the planet, and i am so proud of all the change that you made possible. Time and again, youve picked me up. And i hope sometimes i picked you up too. And tonight, i ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me, because youre who i was talking about 12 years ago when i talked about hope. Its been you who fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds were great, even when the road is long. Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope, america, youve vindicated that hope these past eight years. And now im ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen. So this year in this election, im asking you to join me to reject cynicism and reject fear and to summon what is best in us to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation. Thank you for this incredible journey. Lets keep it going. God bless you. God bless the United States of america. [ cheers and applause ] the roar is deafening here in this arena. President obama delivering a speech, a powerful one embracing hope and optimism, a passionate endorsement of Hillary Rodham clinton. At times an artful takedown of donald trump, a call for americans to participate in democracy. There was some familiar refrains there. Yes, we can. And the audacity of hope there in the final part of his speech this evening. It was the rebuttal to trump that hes been dying to give for months. You could tell theres the moment. [ cheers and applause ] the symbolic passing of the baton. Chuck, you call it the moment that he has waited for. Yes. Also the moment she has waited for. And they have been looking forward to this speech, the Clinton Campaign, also for months. They knew they needed him as the character witness. I have to tell you, this night went as well as it could have gone for Hillary Clinton. If her numbers dont move after all of this tonight, then youve got to ask yourself when will they move. You know, this is also about and i thought the most dramatic thing that he said endorsing her was shes Better Qualified to be president than bill was or than i am. It doesnt get more than that. But he also understands that her election and this campaign is about extending his legacy. Thats an important part of it and thats why hes throwing himself into this campaign. I keep thinking about barack obama, the lawyer. This felt like a closing argument. It was a pointbypoint recitation certainly of his record, her qualifications, a takedown of donald trump, including acknowledgement of Hillary Clintons weakness but a rebuttal to that. And here they are together. Im thinking about all the times Hillary Clinton as secretary of state would travel to other countries and say in our democracy, even though we were bitter rivals, in the end i went to work for him and that is how democracy works. That is democracy at its finest. One amazing moment in here is when he basically separated donald trump from the Republican Party. He criticized the Cleveland Convention and said it wasnt republican or conservative. They are not trying to make the Republican Party own trump, they want the Republican Party to come to their side. America has a choice. We were all in cleveland, we heard the messages there, we have heard the message here. The choice couldnt be any starker. The vision of america that we heard in cleveland versus the one here, there is no comparison. Weve heard this whole riff about there are two americas, there are two americas. Well, were getting two distinct radically different visions of it and there are people that dont recognize the other description. Well, the big difference, obviously, between the two is this is a Cross Section of the Democratic Party. In fact the modern Democratic Party. Ive never heard a president s speech in which there was so many references, for example, to samesex marriage and the changes that have occurred in america in the last eight years that hes been in office. Thats a profound change. And what he is doing, its going to be interesting to see the republicans who stay home are not keen about donald trump, can they make the move here. Thats going to be the real test for them. Can she reach out to them in a way that they feel comfortable with who she is and where shes going to take the country. But i think its interesting to both of your points that they are making a concerted effort tonight to reach that middle. It used to be an article of faith that in a general election you tried to reach those swing voters. But because our politics are so polarized, recent elections have been more about driving out your base and talking to your base and we saw that in this convention with the democrats and at the Republican Convention certainly, but tonight not just barack obama, but also tim kaine making that reach out to that independent voter, to a voter that calls him or herself a republican. Tim kaine said, hey, if the Republican Party is the party of lincoln, weve got room for you over here. How about Michael Bloomberg, this is a guy that spoke to the Republican Convention in 2004 as mayor of new york city and here he is now as the former independent mayor of new york city speaking to the democrats. Look, trump i think democrats no longer view trump as an opportunity to win. I think they are trying to make the case to republicans, hes an existential threat to democracy, come with us. And now we look to tomorrow, as this was the bar. You have to think that barack obama just raised it for Hillary Clinton. Look, i never have thought she is never going to outshine some of the speakers here. Tonight i would argue is always going to be and some in the Clinton Campaign have believed that tonight was more important. She cant botch tomorrow, but that tomorrnight was as importas tomorrow. Dont forget bill clinton had a barn burner speech and they thought, wow, how is barack obama going to surpass that, so i think the stage is set. Shes got to rise to the occasion, but theres precedent for it. A night of star power here in philadelphia. That, unfortunately, will do it for us. Night three of this Democratic National convention. Be sure to tune into matt lauers exclusive interview with Chelsea Clinton tomorrow morning on today. We hope youll join us again tomorrow night when Hillary Clinton accepts the nomination. For chuck todd, savannah guthrie, tom brokaw and our entire nbc news team, im lester holt. Good night from philadelphia. I approve this message. Donald trump i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldnt lose any voters, okay . And you can tell them to go f themselves you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. You gotta see this guy. Ahh, i dont know what i said, ahh. I dont remember. Hes going like i dont remember the case for clinton. A surprise dnc appearance for Hillary Clinton after president obama says shes more qualified for the oval office than he is. Russian roulette. Donald trump asks the kremlin to expose Hillary Clintons emails. And flooding fears. This was the scene on the shore today. The high water could be more widespread tomorrow. Nbc 10 news starts now. There has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States. The democrats make their case, while striking back at donald trump. You cannot believe one word that comes out of Donald Trumps mou mouth. Hes trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. Thats a bunch of malarkey. And tonight, the republican is making headlines of his own. Russia, if youre listening good evening. Im Jim Rosenfield at the wells far bgo center. That was donald trump call withing calling on russia to find Hillary Clintons missing emails. And just moments ago, perhaps you saw this, Hillary Clinton making a surprise appearance, walking right on stage after president obamas speech here at the dnc. Tonight we have live team coverage. We begin with rosemary connors. Reporter a familiar greeting for president obama who first addressed the Democratic National convention as a candidate for the u. S. Senate in 2004. While hes been the center of attention here as the nominee in the last two president ial elections, tonight he shined the spotlight on Hillary Clinton and her experience. Nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the oval office. You can read about it. You can study it. But, until youve sat at that desk, you dont know what its like to manage a Global Crisis or send people to war. But hillarys been in the room, shes been part of those decisions. Reporter the president seemed to admit that she may be a betterprepared candidate than he was in 2008 during his first run for the white house. President obama called clinton someone who gets back up when knocked down and never quits. And thats why i can say with confidence, there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not bill, nobody, more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of america. [cheers and applause] reporter this is a quick trip for the president , as hes only touching down in philadelphia for a few hours. But clinton supporters hope his words will have a lasting effect on this convention and beyond. Im rosemary connors, nbc news. And president obama may have been the headliner, but the Vice President got the crowd warmed up for him. An emotional joe biden slammed donald trump saying the republican nominee is unfit to sit in the white house. A man who seeks to sew division in america for his own gain and disorder around the world. A man who confuses bluster with strength. We simply cannot let that happen as americans. Period. At one point during his speech, the crowd began chanting not a clue, in reference to Donald Trumps ability to relate to the middle class. Tonight the country was introduced to the man who hopes to be the next Vice President , tim kaine, who had a folksy speech that included a donald trump impersonation. Were going to destroy isis so fast, believe me. Theres nothing suspicious in my tax returns, believe me. And you can see Vice President bidenen j enjoyed tha one. What do the delegates think about tim kaine tonight . Reporter there were times you could tell he really had had crowd chantsding with him, getting them to talk back to him from the audience. In addition to taking on donald trump, he told his own stories to an audience getting to know him and a room where some know him well. For my friend, Hillary Clinton, i humbly accept my partys nomination to be Vice President of the United States. Reporter in philadelphia, virginia senator tim kaine officially joining the ticket and joining in at one point to a chachbts in spanish. Yes, we can, yes, we can. Reporter right up front his own delegation cheering ha they called a virginia son. A governor, and now senator. Reporter and now Vice President ial nominee. How does it make you feel . How does it make people from virginia feel . Proud and excited. What can you say . Just wonderful to us. But literally could not have happened to a nicer guy. Reporter putting kaine on the ticket doesnt sit well with come Bernie Sanders supporters. People know him at the local level and theyve worked with him a long time. Reporter he tells me kaine built up trust. What would you say to Bernie Sanders supporters who are not comfortable with him . Give him a chance. Reporter kaine reaching out to them. We all should feel the bern, and we should all not want to get burned by the other guy. Reporter i grabbed some delegates not from virginia after the speech to get their take on things they told me they thought he did a good job. They liked that speech tonight, one in particular liked how he incorporated spanish into it. A skill that could prove very powerful on the campaign trail. Ending gun violence was one of the themes. And the speakers included gabi giffords who survived a bullet to the head in 2012. A major philadelphia figure also took the podium tonight, nbc 10s George Spencer is here with more on that. Reporter former Philadelphia Police commissioner ramsey now seven months out of his role but fighting a concern that still plagues all of our streets. Ive seen the costs of cun v gun violence. Reporter ramsey said Hillary Clinton is the quote, steady leader for our time and in an interview with nbc 10 afterwards, he disputed claims that donald trump would be the law and order candidate. If what youre talking about is using the police to go back into communities and alienate, you know, 50 or 60 of the residents there in order to get a job accomplished, then i think thats why were in the position were in right now. Reporter ramsey told the convention crowds neighborhoods like many here in philly need outreach, not vitriol. The bond bean Law Enforcement and communities are frayed. But we cant play to americas worst fears. We need to champion our greatest hope. And for ramsey, this all is so personal. He recounted for me the names and dates of all eight officers who died on his watch with the city. Five of those officers victims of gun violence. He did that with us. Amazing man. Thank you. All right, back to donald trump, or i should tell you first about former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg knowledamong the prime time speeches. He pulled no punches about donald trump saying im a new yorker, and new yorkers know a conwh when we see one. Trump accused of treason for calling on russia for Hillary Clintons emails. Mr. Donald j. Trump. Russia, if youre listening, i hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. Reporter donald trump referring to emails of the personal server that Hillary Clinton used while conducting official business as secretary of state. In ohio trump didnt back down. The Clinton Campaign was quick to react. That is a galling statement from the republican nominee for president of the United States. Reporter trumps running mate was quick to clarify. In a statement, governor pence warned of consequences if russia was caught supplying. But this didnt quell the outrage at the dnc. It is inconceivable to me that any president ial candidate would be that irresponsible. That borders on treason. Never before have i heard of or seen a dcandidate, for presiden or anything, invite a