See, over the years I’ve come to know Hillary. I know her. Not just her extraordinary professional accomplishments, but I know her personal values and beliefs. I know that Hillary was raised like Barack and I in a working family. Hillary’s mother was an orphan, abandoned by her parents. Her father was a small business owner who stayed up nights, poring over the books, working hard to keep their family afloat. So believe this, Hillary knows what it means to struggle for what you have, and to want something better for your kids.
See, and that’s why since the day she launched her campaign, Hillary has been laying out concrete, detailed policies that will actually make a difference for kids and families in this country. And she said she plans to make college tuition free to help young people drowning in debt.
And let me tell you this about Hillary, she is involved and engaged in every policy issue that she’s developed. Because policies matter, they really matter. They determine whether our kids have good schools, whether they can see a doctor when they’re sick, whether they’re safe when they walk out the door on the way to school. Policies matter, and that’s why Hillary has fought so hard for children’s health insurance as First Lady, for affordable childcare in the Senate.
She is in this race for us. She is in this for our families, for our kids, for our shared future. So let me tell you, that is why I am inspired by Hillary. That is why I respect Hillary, because she has lived a life grounded in service and sacrifice that has brought her to this day, that has more than prepared her to take on the hardest job on the planet.
So Hillary has done her job. Now we need to do our job, and get her elected president of the United States. Because here’s where I want to get real. If Hillary doesn’t win this election, that will be on us. It will be because we did not stand with her. It will be because we did not vote for her, and that is exactly what her opponent is hoping will happen. That’s the strategy, to make this election so dirty and ugly that we don’t want any part of it.
So when you hear folks talking about a global conspiracy, and saying that this election is rigged, understand that they are trying to get you to stay home. They are trying to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter, that the outcome has already been determined, and you shouldn’t even bother making your voice heard.
They are trying to take away your hope. And just for the record, in this country, the United States of America, the voters decide our elections, they’ve always decided, voters decided who wins and who loses, period, end of story.
And right now, thankfully folks are coming out in droves to vote early. It’s amazing to see. Each of you could swing an entire precinct and win this election for Hillary, just by getting yourselves, your friends and your family out to vote.
Just doing what you are supposed to do, you can do this. But you could also help swing an entire precinct for Hillary’s opponent with a protest vote or by not voting at all.
So here’s what I’m asking you. Get out and vote. Get out and vote for Hillary. Vote early. Vote right now. Leave here, go vote. And don’t let anyone take that right away from you.
Because make no mistake about it, casting our vote is the ultimate way we go high when they go low. Voting is our high.
Edited excerpts from US First Lady Michelle Obama’s speech at a campaign rally by Democratic presidential nominee for the US, Hillary Clinton, in Salem, North Carolina, on October 27
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
