Clinton told the cheering crows that America’s values were being tested in the 2016 election. Photo/AFP-FILE.
NEW HAMPSHIRE, US Nov 7 – Hours after being buoyed by the FBI’s decision to clear her – for the second time – Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton held a campaign rally in New Hampshire, where she told voters Tuesday’s US election will be a choice “between unity and division.”
Clinton, 69, didn’t make capital of the decision by the Federal Bureau of Investigations to lift the threat that she could face charges over her emails, instead adopting a conciliatory tone, saying there was need to unite America after she’s declared winner of the abrasive election.
“I believe with all my heart that our best days are still ahead of us if we reach for them together… I also believe that we will have some work to do to bring about healing and reconciliation after this election. We have to begin listening to one another and respecting one another.”
Clinton told the cheering crows that America’s values were being tested in the 2016 election.
“This election is a moment of reckoning; it is a choice between division and unity, between string and steady leadership and a loose canon that could put everything at risk.”
Clinton told her supporters at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire that as much as the election was about those whose names appear on the ballot, it was really a choice about the people.
“After all the months of this campaign, my opponent has a very dark and divisive view of our country. Sometimes when I hear him speak, I honestly don’t recognise the country that he is talking about; sometimes I’m not sure he recognizes the country he’s talking about.”
She said she wants to be held accountable for the pledges she has made on the campaign trail.
Ratings for the former Secretary of State took a hit this week after FBI Director James Comey announced a re-opening of the email probe, and even though he announced Sunday there would be no charges, with commentators on US networks saying enough damage had been done.
Clinton’s lead took a major hit this week with polls giving her a narrow two point lead over bitter rival Donald Trump.
Trump immediately questioned how Comey perused 650,000 emails in a week, considering he pored over a similar number of emails for months in the initial probe.
“Right now, she is being protected by a rigged system. It’s a totally rigged system,” Trump said Sunday. “I’ve been saying it for a long time. You can’t review 650,000 new emails in eight days. You can’t do it, folks,” Trump said in Michigan.
On Monday, Barack Obama will campaign for Clinton in New Hampshire, but will also join her with Michelle, former President Bill Clinton and rock star Bruce Springsteen for a campaign event.
Trump, a 70-year-old property tycoon and Republican flag-bearer was in Atkinson, new Hampshire Friday and returns to the swing State Monday night with an event at the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Arena.
“Hillary Clinton is guilty, she knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know it and now it’s up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on November 8,” he told supporters Sunday.
The Justice Department earlier this year decided not to prosecute Clinton for exposing State Department secrets on an unsecured email system, following recommendation by the FBI.
In the White House race, the winner needs at least 270 of the 538 Electoral College votes from the 50 States and the US capital, Washington.
The Democratic leading California has the highest Electoral College votes at 55, followed by Texas, which is conservative, at 38
Voters will be watching huge swing states like Florida with 29 Electoral College votes, but attention is also given to States with smaller Electoral College votes, which could swing the election, either way.
(Michael is participating in a 2016 US General Elections Embed program administered by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and sponsored by the US State Department’s Foreign Press Centers and US Embassy Posts).
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