i love north carolina. i love this state. i love the people. you know, i always say north carolina, that is one place where even the people who don't vote for me are nice. president obama: it's true. and we have got a beautiful summer day in november. i know you guys are a little hot though. make sure you guys are bending your knees, don't stand up too stiff. if anybody faints, you know, just give them a little room. they'll be ok. hydrate. don't mean to sound like your mom or your dad. so can everybody please give isabel a big round of applause? [cheers and applause]

president obama: we have a couple members of outstanding members of congress here. g.k. butterfield is here. and david price is here. [cheers and applause] president obama: one of the finest public servants in north carolina history, your former governor, jim hunt, is in the house. [cheers and applause] president obama: your current attorney general and your next governor is here. states next united senator is here. too.nd you are here somebody said, what about me? you guys are here too and i am going to talk about you. and how much this country is going to depend on you over these next few days.

i want to thank all the organizers who are here. i know you have helped rally tens of thousands of volunteers and register more than 100,000 voters right here in north carolina. [cheers and applause] president obama: and it is that grassroots work that led us to win north carolina in 2008 and you are why we will win north carolina in 2016. [cheers and applause] president obama: and we got six days, six days, i'd love you to but i got some business i got to do here. i'll give you a hug on the way out. but right now, we have got to focus on some business.

you have to wait until election day to do the right way. you can vote right now. if you are not registered, you have until saturday to register and vote at any one-stop location in your county. if you don't know where to go, then go to iwillvote.com iwillvote.com you can find the one stop location near you and we can finish what we started eight years ago. now, some of you eight years ago were 10. [cheers and applause] president obama: you know who you are. so, you may not remember exactly where we were as a country.

in thevisited raleigh final days of the 2008 campaign, we were living through two long the early were in days of the worst economic crisis in 80 years. people lost their homes, their home their 401(k)s, their values were sinking. the economy was teetering on the edge of a great depression, but we turned the page. we have seen america battle back. roseyear, incomes faster than the first time since 1968. poverty fell the fastest level since 1968. businesses turned job losses into 15 million new jobs. 20 million more people have health insurance who didn't have it before.

[cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] president obama: we kicked our addiction to foreign oil, doubled our production of renewable energy, became the world's leader in fighting climate change. brought home more men and women in uniform. took out osama bin laden. made sure that in all 50 states people have the freedom to marry who they love. [cheers and applause] president obama: we did that over these last eight years. that's what you helped to make happen, and as i traveled across all 50 states, as i've gone to big cities and small hamlets, what i have always seen is what makes america great and that is its people. i have seen you, americans of every faith, every race, every party who know that we're stronger together.

people young and old, men, women, gay, straight, black, white, latino, asian, native american, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance to the red, white and blue. that's the america i know. that's the america we love. and there's only one candidate in this race who has devoted her entire life to lifting up that better america and that is the next president of the united states, hillary rodham clinton. [cheers and applause] she is the right person at the right time, but keep in mind, north carolina, all the progress that we have made over the last eight years, all the progress we

hope to make over the next eight years, all of that goes of the window if we do not win this election. if we do not win this election potentially, that happens if we do not win north carolina. so, i hate to put a little pressure on you, but the fate of the republic rests on your shoulders. the fate of the world is teetering and you, north carolina come are going to have to make sure that we push it in the right direction. [cheers and applause] i know that at: the end of a campaign, you must be tired of tv commercials. there are so many negative ads, and there's so much noise and there's so many distractions and everything is -- every day is just hysteria and over the top coverage and at a certain point

there's a temptation to just want to tune it out. you kind of feel overdosed. even those of us in politics sometimes feel like, i've had enough politics. i understand the feeling, i promise you. but i want you to push away the noise for a second and just focus on the choice you face in this election, because the truth is the choice, if we put aside all the noise, all the distractions, all the hype, all the nonsense, if you push all that away, this choice actually could not be simpler, it could not be clearer. it really couldn't. ok. we got somebody who fell, which is what i expected. give him some room. make sure they get a little water. if emergency medical is available, just make sure you know there's somebody down right here in the middle. they'll be ok.

they will be ok. it happens all the time. now -- ok. but hold on a second. i'm still focused on business. not business, bid-ness. this choice actually is pretty clear. because the guy that the republicans nominated, even though a bunch of them knew they shouldn't nominate him, the guy they nominated who many of the republicans he's running against said was a con artist and a nothing and was not qualified to hold this office, this guy is temperamentally unfit to be commander-in-chief and he is not equipped to be president. not -- they should

not be a controversial claim. it really shouldn't. i mean, it's strange how over time what is crazy gets normalized, and we just got to assume, well, you know what, he said a hundred crazy things so the 101st thing we don't even notice. think about it. this is somebody that claims to be a great businessman, but i will tell you, a know a lot of business people right here in north carolina and all across the country who have done really well without stiffing small businesses and workers out of what they owe them. [applause] president obama: we don't -- we don't have a history of somebody who refuses to release any tax returns at all. and maybe it's because he's not as rich as he says he is. maybe it's because he hasn't paid federal income taxes in years.

now, this is something he said. this is not -- this is not me making it up. he hasn't paid a dime. not for our troops. not for our veterans. not for our great universities. not for our community colleges. not for building roads. not for maintaining our national parks. not for any of the things that helped keep america the greatest nation on earth. he says he'll be his own foreign policy advisor. he says he can do that because he has a good brain. now, that is contestable. but what i can tell you is we can't afford to have a president who suggests that america should torture people, or that we religions fromre our country. we deserve better than a commander-in-chief who insults p.o.w.'s, or attacks a gold star

our or who denigrates troops. we have had a republican senator, not me, a republican senator who said we could not afford to give the nuclear codes to somebody so erratic. now, if a republican senator says that about a guy, why would we consider giving him the nuclear codes? it's like hillary said, a man tweet isan bait witha a not a man you can trust with nuclear weapons. you can't do it. [cheers and applause] president obama: and, yet -- look, we have to acknowledge he's got support. he's got support here in north carolina. he has support in other states and part of it is because he's been able to convince some people that he's going to be their voice. now, keep in mind, this is somebody who spent 70 years on this earth shall in respect for

working people. working people weren't invited to his hotels or golf courses , unless they were the mademaid, or mowing the fairway. i mean, this is somebody who vilifies minorities, vilifies immigrants, vilifies people of muslim faith, makes fun of americans with disabilities. how is that person going to be your voice? do you want somebody to be your voice who on tape brags about how being famous allows him to get away with sexual assault? who calls women pigs or dogs or slobs? and grades them on a scale of one to 10. that is not the voice of america. that's not the better angels of our nature. and we have a choice.

we can choose that or we can choose to teach our kids that our diversity is our strength, that women are full and equal citizens, capable of doing everything that a man does. [cheers and applause] jobs,ent obama: that our particularly when we have positions of authority, particularly when this country to treated us, is everybody with dignity, treat everybody with respect, to treat everybody with generosity and kindness. we have to stop thinking that his behavior is normal. that it is within the bounds of pointas up until this then our normal political discourse. and you hear some folks now justifying it and making excuses. you hear some republicans who --

they know he is not qualified, but they say, you know what, character does not matter, knowing the issues does not matter, and policy does not matter, so long as he supports the republican agenda. that i have to tell you, this it's about whow, you are and what you are and it does not change after you occupy the office. it just magnifies it. if you disrespect women before you are elected president, you will disrespect women when you are in office. [applause] president obama: if you accept the support of clan sympathizers, the clan, and hesitate when asked about that support, then you will tolerate that support when you are in office. if you disrespect the constitution before you are elected president, and you

threatened to shut down the press when it writes stories about you that you do not like, or you threaten to throw your opponent in jail without any due process, or you discriminate against people of different imagine what you will do when you actually have the power to violate the come -- whenlong those lines you actually have the power to violate the constitution along those lines. i want to speak not just to democrats, but the republicans in north carolina as well. you know, look, i am obviously a partisan democrat. i understand that. but we are not democrats or republicans first. we are americans first. [cheers and applause] president obama: and there are certain standards of behavior that we should expect out of our leaders. i've got republican friends who don't think or act the way donald trump does. this is somebody who is uniquely unqualified. i ran against the john

mccain. against mitt romney. i thought i would be a better president, but i never thought the republic was at risk if they were elected. and guess what, north carolina? the good news is, all of you are uniquely qualified to make sure this guy who is uniquely unqualified does not become president. you have just got to vote. you've just got to vote. and the nice thing is, you don't just have to vote against that guy, because you have got a candidate who is actually worthy of your vote, who is smart, who is steady, and who is tested, it was probably the most qualified person ever to run for this office. and that is the next president of the united states, hillary clinton. [cheers and applause] issident obama: here

somebody who has dedicated her life to making this country better. think about how she got her start, while donald trump and his dad were being sued by the department of justice for denying housing to african-american families. i am not making this up. i am just stating facts. as that same time, hillary was going undercover from school to school to make sure disadvantaged kids were getting an equal shot at an education. that tells you something about their respective values. and hillary hasn't stopped fighting for justice. she has not stopped fighting for equality of her sons. her heart has always been in the right place. and she works hard every single day. i know. she worked for me. first of all, she ran against me and she worked really hard. and then she worked for me and she worked really hard. and she was there in the situation room, and she was

there in the oval office. and when we were making decisions about going after bin laden, even when it was really risky. when it was time to figure out how to win back world opinion, in the wake of the iraq war, she circled the globe tirelessly as secretary of state. you know what, she's not flashy. she's not going around spending all of her time giving big one-liners. is sometimesr, she underappreciated here at home. but she made me a better president and she is an outstanding public servant. she knows her stuff and she understands the challenges we face and she is to have. and when things don't go her way, she does not whine, and she does not complain. she does not blame others or suggest that everything is rigged. i had a chance to meet the tar heels basketball team, the men

and the women. [cheers and applause] president obama: you know, here is one thing i know. if in the middle of a game, you are spending all of your time arguing with the ref, and start to make excuses about how you are going to lose because the refs are not doing the right thing, then you are a loser. and you should not win. [applause] hillary, obama: and she just works through whatever is in front of her. she's got grit. and she has got resilience. and if she gets knocked down, she gets back up and goes back added. she knows, most importantly, the decisions that a president makes affect you. this is not abstract stuff we are talking about. if you are a student who gets a cal grant, trying to make sure

you do not have a mountain of debt, that depends on decisions made by the president. if you are a soldier, whether you get deployed to some far off land, that is up to the commander-in-chief. if you are a young person brought to this country as a child, growing up as an american, but maybe does not have the papers and now you are trying to figure out how you can contribute to this country you call home, that is something the president has influence over. veterans, seniors, a single mom who needs some help with childcare, that is what these decisions are about. and hillary understands that and she knows those folks need a chance. and she has actually got plans to help. she's actually got plans. the other guy is not a big plan guy. she's got plans. she can show you how she can make sure more people have early

childhood education. she can show how young people can have more affordable college educations. and while she's executing those plans, she's also going to respect working americans and the values we care for. she will be a commander in chief who finishes the job of defeating isis. she will be smart and she will be steady. she is going to need help and that is why i want all of you to focus on making sure deborah ross is going to be a senator right alongside her when hillary gets elected. [cheers and applause] deboraht obama: because has heard your story. she has been out there, fighting for working families, making sure they have gotten a fair shot, and that seniors are secure with the retirement they have earned. and unlike her opponent, she does not support donald trump.

i want to take a minute just to talk about senator burr. he and i came together in the senate. personally, he's a decent guy. i have got nothing against richard burr. but when i hear him say, there is not a separation between me and donald trump, that is troubling. either he actually means it, i n which case, he agrees with everything donald trump says. that is what you mean when you say, "there is not a separation," or he just is saying in to get elected. that is not good either way. you don't want a senator who spends all his time, "yes, sir, mr. trump, what do you want me to do, mr. trump?" lately, he has been mimicking donald trump. last week he actually joked about violence against hillary. that's not something we do. that is not something -- i tell you, if i heard a democrat saying that, i would condemn

them in a hot second. you do not talk about violence against public officials, even in a joke. [applause] president obama: and you know, i want to it knowledge, he apologized, but the problem is, this is becoming normal. this is the red meat they are throwing their audiences. it is not normal. and it is not who north carolina is. north carolina is full of good and decent people. and courteous people. and people who are willing to cooperate with each other to try to make things better. that is what america is about. so, let me be clear, north carolina. business. let me be clear. there is something more at stake in this election than just plans. or policies. this is about the character of our nation. when hillary was young, her mom taught her the methodist crede

nce. do all the good you can for all the people you can in all the ways you can for as long as you can. that is her north star. she believes in that. she believes that we can summon what's best in each of us and that is what america is about. we are a country like no other. not because of the size of our skyscrapers or the power of our armies, but because we are a place founded for the sake of an idea. be hold these truthss t to self-evident that all men are created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. into not have to be born wealth or privilege in this country. we don't have to practice a certain faith. we don't have to have a certain last name. we just have to be willing to

contribute. we just have to be willing to put our shoulder to the wheel of history and we can be a part of this community that we call america. that's what drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. that is what led g.i.'s to liberate a continent. that is what gave women the courage to reach for a ballot. that is what gave martin luther the courage to cross the bridge in selma. empower the workers to organize for collective bargaining and fair wages. that is what makes america exceptional. that is what makes america great. in other words, america depends on you. you, all of you. america has never been about what one person says he will do for us. i did not say, yes, i can. i said, yes, we can.

[cheers and applause] president obama: it is about what can be achieved by us, each of us together through that hard, slow, and yes, sometimes frustrating work of self-government. that means all of us. brandeis once said the most important office in the democracy is the office of a citizen. not senator, not mayor, not president, but citizen. that is you. and that's what hillary is counting on. because she understands that in a big democracy like this, a diverse country like this, it all comes down to what the people say. in she understands it does not work, our democracy does not work if we demonize each other. if we just make stuff up. if we spend all of our time just trying to tear the other person

down just for the sake of seeing if we can get a little more power. she understands that issues are not black and white and yes, progress requires compromise. even when you are right. and she knows that none of us are perfect. not even our president. but that we should try to conduct ourselves with basic honesty and decency and big heartedness. because that is what our moms and dads taught us. and they were onto something. they understood that sometimes what life is about is pretty simple. it is like, how do you treat people? are you useful? are you kind? are you generous? do you treat people with respect? she understands that. and hillary will continue the progress that we have made. and she will need allies like deborah ross because it is not enough just to stick hillary with a republican congress the

way they are behaving right now. i wish they were behaving differently. i have tried. i have reached out to them. they did not work with me when i took office, even when we were andng to save folks' jobs prevent a depression. even when they controlled the senate and house, they have trouble passing their own stuff. and so, they just resort constantly to gridlock, and obstruction and threats to shut down the government and wreck the economy if they do not get their way. that's not how democracy works. that is not what your parents taught you. we teach little kids in the sandbox to share and cooperate and don't hit each other. and right now, because a lot of them think that trump will lose, they are already promising even more unprecedented dysfunction in washington, which is pretty hard to do. [laughter] president obama: they are promising years of

investigations. years of hearings. more shutdowns. more obstruction. i am not making this up. take a look. this is what they are saying. more repeal votes. some are saying they want to appoint -- some are saying they don't want to appoint a ninth supreme court justice at all. deborah's opponent, senator burr, just said that if hillary wins he will do everything he can to block all supreme court nominations. keep in mind the reason they said they would not have a hearing or vote for my supreme court nomination, bucking all of american history, was because we thought the american people should decide the next supreme court justice. now they are saying that well, if they'd won't decide the way we want them to decide, maybe we won't even do that. 11 years ago, richard burr said a supreme court without nine justices will not work.

well, what changed? now only republican nominees get to decide on the supreme court justices? i used to teach constitutional law. i've never seen that provision. [applause] president obama: you've got some republicans in congress who are already suggesting they will impeach hillary -- she hasn't even been elected yet. it does not matter what evidence , they will find something. that is what they are saying already. how does a democracy function like that? gridlock, butikes i want to be clear about something. gridlock is not some mysterious gridlockdescends -- is not some mysterious fog that descends on washington. it is not some aberration that just shows up. it is not like a monster movie.

gridlock is not happening because both sides, democrats and republicans, are being equally unreasonable. i mean, i know it is hard to view me as objective here, but i am about to leave, so i am just letting you know the truth. [cheers and applause] president obama: wait, wait! hold on, we still have some bid-ness to do. gridlock is what happens when republican politicians, like richard burr, decide, not based on the merits or what is good for the constituents, but based on political calculations that they will oppose anything good for the country just because a democrat proposes that. that is how gridlock happens. that is essentially richard burr's campaign platform at this point. as i said before, i know richard burr. yeah, i used to work out with him in the gym in the senate. he is a perfectly nice guy. but what happens is, they have built up this new normal in the

party where he has got to say anything in order to get elected. so, if you think that vote for gridlock is a good slogan, then you should vote for the republicans. but if you believe, like i believe, that america can do better, if you believe that we should be out there, not trying to block each other from doing stuff, but creating jobs for families, lifting wages, childcare, if you care about equal pay for women and raising the minimum wage, then i need you to vote for democrats up and down the ticket. i need you to vote for hillary clinton. i need you to vote for deborah ross. they are ready to roll up their sleeves and move this country forward. they do not want to look backwards. they want to go forward. [cheers and applause] it isent obama: i know easy to get cynical.

there is a lot in this election season that can give you reason to be cynical. but right now, i just want you to know, all of you, it is in your power to reject the politics mean-spirited that would take us backwards. that is not how it has to be. that is not how it has always been. but it is going to depend on you. you can elect a leader who has spent her entire life trying to move this country forward. our first female president it will be an example for our daughters and our sons that everybody has a chance to contribute and serve. you have a chance to shape history. what an amazing thing that is. north carolina, she wins. [cheers and applause] and that means:

that when i said the fate of the republic rests on you, i wasn't joking. but that shouldn't make you fearful. that should make you excited. it's not often when you can move the arc of history. don't let that chance slip away. young people here, it is not often that you know your voice will have an impact. don't let it slip away. don't give away your power. don't fall for the easy cynicism that says, my vote is not matter. that all politicians are the same. it does matter. they are not all the same. that is what hillary's opponent wants you to think because they do not want you to vote. and i have got to say, he has been getting help from republican politicians in this state who have been trying to keep you from voting. we are the only advanced democracy on earth that purposely tries to make it harder for people to vote. sometimesithin

unfortunate traditions of america, what has been going on lately here in this state has been traveling. a few years ago in north carolina, republicans passed a law that makes it harder for african-americans to vote. that's not my opinion. earlier this year a federal judge said that based on the evidence, those who voted or withhese laws "surgical precision." it was one of the worst voter suppression laws in the country. here in north carolina. not back in the 1960's. now. already, right now, donald trump is calling on his supporters. to monitor certain areas. where are those certain areas he is talking about? there are groups that are not even making secret plans. they are just out in public say in we are going to try to

suppress the african-american vote on election day, or the youth vote on election day. if you think that is accidental, i want you to think about a bell.named grace grace bell lived in belhaven, north carolina her entire life. all 100 years of her life. just a few weeks ago, republicans challenged her voter registration status. and tried to remove her from the voter rolls. she heard about it and said, i can't vote. 100 years old. now, grace got her voter registration reinstated. and you better believe she is going to vote. [cheers and applause] president obama: but this 100-year-old woman was not alone in being targeted. the list republicans tried to .urge or 2/3 black

it is happening in counties across this state. there was a time when systematically denying black folks the right to vote was normal as well. young people, i want you to listen up. parents, i want you to talk about this. it was not that long ago that folks had to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar or bubbles on a bar of soap, or recite the constitution in chinese in order to vote. it wasn't that long ago when folks were beaten, trying to register voters in mississippi. it wasn't that long ago when the first african-american chief justice of the north carolina supreme court was denied the right to register to vote because he had failed the so-called literacy test after he had graduated from college. it wasn't that long ago. grace bell hardison, 100

years old, imagine what she has seen in the arc of her life. born at a time when there were barely no cars on the road, no planes in the sky. think about what she has seen. a great-grandmother. probably a great great grandmother. how are we going to do that -- how are we going to let, after all she has been through, folks disrespect her like that? how are we going to betray all of those who have worked so hard, risked everything for the vote so we could pull the lever, and we are going to vote? what is our excuse? now, those who wanted to suppress the vote, they are going to fail. the law was struck down. your rights have been restored. [cheers and applause] president obama: right now there are more one-stop early vote sites in north carolina than ever before. you can register to vote at any site and your county as long as you do it by saturday. it's easier to vote than ever in

north carolina, but if you don't vote, then you have done the work of those who would suppress your vote without them having to lift a finger. come on. back in 2008, i won north carolina by 14,000 votes. that's about two votes per precinct. just two votes per precinct going the other way, i would have lost north carolina. how can you say your vote doesn't count? each of you could swing an entire precinct for hillary if you vote. [cheers and applause] president obama: or you could swing it for her if you don't vote. your vote matters. young people, especially, your vote matters. if oyou havema: been marching for criminal justice reform, that is great. but you had better vote for a president and the congress that cares about disrupting the

pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. you have been marching for the environment to do something about climate change. i have heard you. you had better hope the next president, who believes in science, and will protect the progress we have made so that we can leave the world we are proud of a better place for our children. you want more jobs? you want to have a higher minimum wage? you want help with student loans? don't just sit there and complain. don't just sit there in the barbershop and beauty shop and watching the tar heels and say, you know, politics is messed up, but what is the score? no, no, no. you can watch the game after you vote. [cheers and applause] president obama: the good news

is, you have got the proof when you know it works. because so many of you voted knowing. it is because of you that millions of people have health care today that didn't have it before. it's because of you that millions of young people are going to college that couldn't afford it before. it's because of you that the marines can serve in this country without hiding the husband that he loves. [cheers & applause] president obama: it is because of you that more young immigrants came out of the shadows and are serving this country. north carolina, i am asking you today what i asked of you eight years ago. i am asking you to believe, not in my abilities, not just in hillary's abilities to bring about positive change. i am asking you to believe in your ability to bring about positive change. i am not on the ballot. but i tell you what, fairness is on the ballot. decency is on the ballot. [cheers and applause] president obama: justice is on the ballot. our democracy is on the ballot

right now. [cheers and applause] president obama: and hillary gives you a chance to defend our democracy, but you have got to do everything you can to make sure everybody votes. your friends, your family, your cousins, your uncles, your neighbors, your coworkers. tell them this is the moment america stands up for our best selves. stand up and reject cynicism. stand up and reject fear. choose hope. choose hope. choose hope. choose hope. [cheers and applause] president obama: vote! and if you do, we will elect hillary clinton, the next president of the united states. we will elect deborah ross, the next senator of the great state of north carolina. we will continue this amazing journey, finish what we started, and remind the world why this is the greatest country on earth.

god bless you, north carolina. god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] ♪

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♪ political events to tell you about tomorrow. melania trump, wife of donald her husbandigns for in berwyn, pennsylvania, outside of philadelphia. live coverage starting at 2:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. in the evening, hillary clinton a campaign rally in raleigh, north carolina. watch coverage at 7:45 p.m. eastern on c-span.

up next on c-span, a look at the new hampshire senate race between senator kelly ayotte and governor maggie hassan. a rally inp holds orlando, florida. president obama campaigns for in chapel hill, north carolina. c-span's "washington journal" with news and you.y issues that impact thursday morning, republican and election lawyer, and kristen clark, president and executive director for the lawyer's committee under civil discuss then us to integrity of this year's voting process. votingics, rigged systems, ballot fraud at the issues.d voter then, political science american on african voter turnout. and political science department

will at temple university talk about pennsylvania's role state thisttleground election cycle. watch "washington journal" live thursday morning. discussion. >> tuesday night's results could be an early indicator which party controls the u.s. senate in 2017. james pindell is following the story for the "boston globe." thanks very much for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> this race between republican senator kelly ayotte and maggie hassan, when they entered the even.it was almost dead it seems to have been the same ever since. james: there's been a lot of twists and turns, but there's been one constant which is the race remains tied. it was tied when the race began. there's been a couple of outlier polls that have shown various times of the year that one candidate was up by a little bit outside the margin of error or the other one was.