CHICAGO — He once built his political career here, but President Barack Obama returned to his hometown on Tuesday to play elder statesman.
“It’s good to be home!” Obama began a nearly deafening reception at the United Center. “I don’t know about you, but I feel nervous!”
Obama’s famous “It’s on fire!” Ready to go!” brought another roar.
As the night approached, he immediately chased his wife and former First Lady MichelleObama’s remarks weaved the nuts and bolts of what he sees as a road map for the party’s Democratic principles. He paid tribute to his former vice president, Joe Biden, who was one of several speakers to do so Tuesday night, saying that making the choice was one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
He urged Americans to avoid divisiveness that turns into blind hatred of each other. Obama made the case for Kamala Harris, citing her accomplishments as attorney general and then vice president, saying she helped bring down drug companies, the high cost of insulin and lower health care costs.
At the same time, Obama took shots at Trump, including slamming the former president for his “weird obsession with crowd sizes,” pointing with his hands to indicate something small. It was one of his biggest laugh lines of the night.
“We don’t need four more years of confusion, nonsense and chaos,” Obama said to cheers. “We’ve seen that movie before and we all know the sequel is usually worse.”
Obama also had good words for Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“I love this man, Tim is the man to be in politics,” Obama said. “You can tell the shirts he’s wearing didn’t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet and they’ve been through some stuff.”
The governor’s wife, Gwen Walz, later appeared on the arena’s large video screen, showing her hearty agreement with Obama’s comments.
The former president also pushed for the United States’ role in the world to be a “force for good.”
“We shouldn’t be the policeman of the world,” Obama said. “We cannot eradicate all cruelty and injustice in the world, but America can and must be a force for good. Preventing conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change.”
Obama’s task on Tuesday is to help put this political moment into perspective, said Jim Messina, who is managing Obama’s second bid for the White House.
“Tonight is really about him being the main narrator of the moment,” he told NBC News. “People forget that he was the first to realize that Kamala was going to be a star. When he became attorney general, he told us all, “Look at the attorney general in California, he’s really good.”
Harris turned Biden’s old campaign on its head. Since the president stepped down on July 21, Harris’ campaign has raised an eye-watering amount: It is close to 500 million dollars.
“I mean, it’s crazy, and it shows the underlying passion,” Messina said, referring to the big crowd for Harris in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Asked if the moment for Harris was a reminder of Obama’s 2008 magic on voters, Messina said there is room for growth. Harris said his campaign has yet to take it to the next level and truly become a “movement.”
“We’re not there yet,” he said.