<nbsp/> Clinton states his case for a 2nd Obama term

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — CHARLOTTE, N.C. Former President Bill Clinton wowed the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday with a full-throated defense of President Barack Obama's job record during a dramatic speech that heaped ridicule on the Republicans' rationale for ousting Obama.

Clinton, who occupied the White House and handily won re-election during an economic-boom period in the 1990s, formally offered Obama's name for renomination in the latest twist in a relationship that has not always been so friendly. The 42nd president -- whose wife, Hillary Clinton, gave Obama his stiffest Democratic competition in the 2008 primaries -- delivered a powerful address that Obama may find difficult to top.

Obama will formally accept his party's nomination today, the same day that former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona is expected to lead the convention in the Pledge of Allegiance. It would be Giffords' highest-profile public appearance since a nearly fatal assassination attempt almost two years ago during a constituent event outside Tucson.

Clinton's 48-minute primetime remarks, which Obama listened to from backstage at Time Warner Cable Arena, praised the president's handling of the economy and hailed him as the man who "stopped the slide into depression and put us on the long road to recovery" and who is still "committed to constructive cooperation."

Clinton acknowledged that Obama is not satisfied with the economic situation but stressed that Americans are better off than when he took office during the recent recession, which he blamed on the Republicans.

"In Tampa, the Republican argument against the president's re-election was actually pretty simple and pretty snappy," said Clinton, referring to last week's Republican National Convention, where former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was nominated for president. "It went something like this: We left him a total mess, he hasn't finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in."

The case for Obama's second term is stronger, Clinton said. "Here it is: He inherited a deeply damaged economy. He put a floor under the crash. He 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 for the innovators."

Clinton's speech preceded the traditional convention roll call in which delegates from Arizona and other states announced their support for their party's renomination of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, whose acceptance speeches have been moved indoors because of weather concerns.

Arizona's delegation, which consists of 80 delegates and six alternates, were joined for the roll call by CC Goldwater, granddaughter of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, a five-term Arizona Republican and 1964 GOP presidential nominee.

"My grandfather wouldn't recognize the Republican Party of today," said an audibly nervous Goldwater, who endorsed Obama over Sen. John McCain in 2008 and is supporting Democrat Richard Carmona in this year's Arizona Senate race. "Barry Goldwater believed in personal freedoms, the right to privacy and a woman's right to choose. On behalf of the Arizona delegation, I want to cast 77 votes for Arizona for Barack Obama."

Other high-profile speakers on the convention's second night included House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Massachusetts; and Sandra Fluke, a recent law-school graduate whose advocacy for contraception coverage by insurance companies prompted conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh to call her a "slut."

Giffords, the three-term Arizona Democrat whose ongoing recovery from a gunshot wound to the head has inspired the nation, and her retired NASA astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, were sighted in Charlotte on Wednesday, and news of her likely appearance electrified the convention as it spread from delegate to delegate. Giffords resigned from Congress on Jan. 25 to focus on her rehabilitation.

The tightly choreographed convention was knocked off script briefly Wednesday as Democratic delegates amended their recently adopted 2012 party platform to include a reference to God and to acknowledge that "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel."

The original platform, which delegates endorsed Tuesday, drew criticism for the omissions. The changes were made only after multiple voice votes and over loud dissent.

If Obama wins a second term, he will become only the second Democrat to do so since Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the first since Clinton was re-elected in 1996.

Clinton asked delegates and television viewers to choose what kind of a country they want to live in.

"If you want a winner-take-all, you're-on-your-own society, you should support the Republican ticket," Clinton said. "But if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility -- a we're-all-in-this-together society -- you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden."

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who is attending the convention, said he hopes Clinton's message of compromise resonates. Clinton stressed that in the real world, compromise and cooperation trump the "politics of constant conflict." Stanton noted that Clinton for much of his presidency had to deal with a GOP Congress and held him up as an example of someone who could work with his opponents.

"Pretty much wherever Bill Clinton goes, he's the big star," Stanton said. "Bill Clinton is very popular in America today. He is very popular among both parties. I think that was harkening back to an era when there was bipartisan agreement. And Bill Clinton was a great messenger: No one could speak to an audience of 15,000 people but make you feel like he was speaking just to you, individually, like Bill Clinton."

In another development, convention organizers announced Wednesday that Obama's acceptance speech would be moved from the outdoor Bank of America Stadium, where the NFL's Carolina Panthers play, to the Time Warner Cable Arena, a smaller, in-door facility that is home to the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats and was host to the first two days of the convention.

Steve Kerrigan, the Democratic National Convention Committee CEO, said forecast thunderstorms forced the venue change, although the decision came amid speculation that Democrats were struggling to fill the stadium's more than 65,000 seats.

On Tuesday, Ben LaBolt, the Obama-Biden campaign's national press secretary, told reporters that the plan was to proceed at Bank of America Stadium rain or shine. He denied that the campaign would have any problem finding enough people to fill the seats.

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