>>> FOR EIGHT YEARS JOE WAS THE
>>> FOR EIGHT YEARS JOE WAS THE
LAST ONE IN THE ROOM WHENEVER I
FACED A BIG DECISION.
HE MADE ME A BETTER PRESIDENT,
AND HE’S GOT THE CHARACTER AND
EXPERIENCE TO MAKE US A BETTER
COUNTRY.
>> BACK WITH US AGAIN TONIGHT
TWO VETERANS OF THE OBAMA WHITE
HOUSE, DAVID PLOUFFE, FORMER
CAMPAIGN MANAGER AND SENIOR
ADVISOR.
HIS LATEST WORK IS "A CITIZENS’S
GUIDE TO BEATING DONALD TRUMP."
AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS
SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA.
AND DAVID, I KNOW YOU HAD A
HAND, HAD A ROLE IN THE CRAFTING
OF TONIGHT’S REMARKS.
AND I KNOW THAT NO ONE NEED
REMIND YOU WRITING IT IS ONE
THING.
IT’S IN THE DELIVERY, AND I
CONTEND WE SAW SOMETHING
ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT TONIGHT.
>> OH, I MEAN THAT WAS BARACK
OBAMA’S SPEECH.
IT’S AN IDEA IN WRITING IN
DELIVERY.
I OBVIOUSLY HELPED ON A LOT OF
SPEECHES THROUGH THE YEARS AS
HAS ROBERT.
WATCHED A GAZILLION OF THEM,
THERE’S NEVER BEEN ONE LIKE
THAT.
I MEAN I THINK HE OFTEN USED TO
TALK ABOUT THE FIERCE URGENCY OF
NOW THAT DR. KING TALKED ABOUT,
AND I THINK URGENCY, TRUTH --
ONE OF HIS SIGNATURE LINES BACK
IN ’08 HE WOULD OFTEN SAY AS
PRESIDENT IS I’M NOT GOING TO
TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.
I’M GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU
NEED TO HEAR, AND THAT’S WHAT HE
DID TONIGHT.
EVEN FOR ME I’D SEEN THE SPEECH
AHEAD OF TIME.
IT’S ALARMING TO HEAR IT.
HE’S BASICALLY SAYING IF THIS
ELECTION GOES TO DONALD TRUMP
OUR ELECTION COULD BE OVER.
AND THAT’S THE TRUTH AS HE SEES
IT.
AND I VIOLENTLY BELIEVE IN IT.
I HOPE WHAT COMES OUT OF THIS
SPEECH ARE PEOPLE WHO WORK 5
HOURS A WEEK, WORK 10.
PEOPLE WHO WEREN’T SURE THEY
WERE GOING TO VOTE EARLY, VOTE
AS EARLY AS THEY CAN, PEOPLE
UNDERSTANDING THE STAKES.
IT WAS A HISTORICAL SPEECH
REALLY BECAUSE WE HAD A FORMER
PRESIDENT WHO LOVES DEMOCRACY
SAY IT’S ALL ON THE LINE.
BUT I THOUGHT HIS DELIVERY, THE
SPEECH ITSELF WAS POWERFUL BUT
THE DELIVERY WAS INCREDIBLY
POWERFUL.
AND I THINK AGAIN LIKE I THINK
MICHELLE OBAMA’S SPEECHES
ACTUALLY THE FACT IT WAS NOT IN
FRONT OF A BIG HALL I THINK WAS
VERY HELPFUL.
I THINK IT REALLY HELPED SET THE
STAGE NOT JUST WE, THE PEOPLE
AND THE CONSTITUTION IN THE 3 C1
BACKGROUND, BUT THERE WAS AN
INTIMACY TO HIS CALL TO ACTION
AND HIS URGENCY.
AND I THINK WE ALL NEED TO HEED
IT.
AND IF WE DON’T, YOU KNOW, THE
WHOLE ENTERPRISE COULD BE OVER,
BRIAN.
>> WELL, THAT WAS -- ROBERT
GIBBS, THAT WAS THE
UNDERCURRENT.
THAT’S WHAT HISTORIANS WILL TAKE
AWAY TONIGHT OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE, ABSENT CAMPAIGN THAT
DEMOCRACY ITSELF IS UNDER
THREAT.
AND I ALSO, ROBERT, WANT TO READ
YOU THE WORK OF PETER BAKER IN
TODAY’S "THE NEW YORK TIMES."
THIS IS ADJACENT.
AFTER WATCHING PRESIDENT TRUMP
SYSTEMATICALLY DEMOLISH MANY OF
HIS ACHIEVEMENTS MR. OBAMA HAS
ALMOST AS MUCH AT STAKE IN THIS
YEAR’S CAMPAIGN AS HIS FORMER
PRESIDENT AND HIS 2020
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE JOE BIDEN
DOES.
A SECOND CHANCE TO REDEEM HIS
LEGACY AND PROVE TO HISTORY THAT
MR. TRUMP’S ELECTION WAS AN
ANOMALY NOT A PERMANENT
REPUDIATION.
ROBERT, ALL THAT LEAVES OUT IN
MAKING IT PERSONAL BOTH CAN BE
TRUE AT THE SAME TIME -- ALL
THAT LEAVES OUT IS BY THE WAY,
FOLKS, YOUR DEMOCRACY IS IN
DANGER.
>> WELL, AND I THINK HE DID A
REMARKABLE JOB SETTING OUT THE
STAKES OF WHAT IS ON THE LINE IN
NOVEMBER.
AND I AGREE WITH DAVID.
I’VE HEARD THAT LINE OF FIERCE
URGENCY OF NOW FROM BARACK OBAMA
SO MANY TIMES, AND YOU COULD
FEEL IT -- I THOUGHT HE WAS
OVERCOME BY EMOTION WALKING US
THROUGH THAT ARGUMENT.
I THINK IT WAS ALSO IMPORTANT IF
YOU TAKE THIS BACK TO HIS 2004
SPEECH, HE ALSO ATTACKS THE
CYNICISM OF LETTING THIS MOMENT
GET THE MOST OF YOU AND WHAT YOU
HAVE TO DO TO PULL YOURSELF UP
AND BECOME INVOLVED.
AND I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH
DAVID.
I THINK THE IDEA BOTH WITH
MICHELLE’S SPEECH AND BARACK’S
SPEECH TONIGHT THE ABILITY FOR
US TO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE
CROWD SHOTS OR FUNNY HATS OR
HAVING THEM TRY TO TALK OVER A
CROWD, WE COULD FOCUS
ONE-ON-ONE.
I FELT LIKE WITH MICHELLE’S
SPEECH, I FELT LIKE I WAS HAVING
COFFEE WITH HER.
WITH BARACK’S SPEECH I FELT WE
WERE IN A BACKYARD AT A BARBECUE
AND HE WAS WALKING THROUGH
WHAT’S AT STAKE.
AND I THINK THAT WILL BECOME
MORE POWERFUL AND MORE
CONSEQUENTIAL AS WE RELISTEN TO
THOSE WORDS.
IT WASN’T A LECTURE.
IT WAS JUST A SIMPLE HERE’S
