Hillary more qualified to become president than Bill: Obama

Obama said Hillary's Republican rival Donald Trump "temperamentally unfit" to lead the country

Philadelphia, Nov 8: Rallying behind Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama has said the Democratic presidential nominee was more qualified to be the next US president than him or Bill Clinton as he termed her Republican rival Donald Trump "temperamentally unfit" to lead the country.

Appearing with his wife Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea Clinton for a grand rally here on election eve, 55-year-old Obama exhorted a crowd of thousands to go out and vote for Hillary. Describing Hillary as "smart" and "well-tested", Obama said she was more qualified than he or her husband was to lead the country.

"It's been a long campaign, with a lot of noise and distraction. It felt more like a reality show and parody," Obama said. Noting that Trump is "temperamentally unfit to be the Commander-in-Chief", he said the Republican nominee lacks basic understanding of the world and justifies torture.

Hitting out at Trump's aides who took control of his Twitter account, Obama said if the Republican nominee's closest aides do not trust him to tweet then he should not be trusted with nuclear codes.

"Anyone who sees women as objects, minorities and immigrants as inferior, then he cannot lead our diverse and dynamic big-hearted country," Obama said. Obama said in Hillary, Americans have "somebody extraordinary to vote for."

He said he had to "bite my tongue" several times when Hillary was attacked viciously and described her as one of the "most effective" Secretaries of State who "did a great job for America." "She is a big reason why we are more respected around the world today," he said, adding that Hillary does not "complain, doesn't buckle, juts like the American people."

"She is strong and tough and she will work and deliver. She won't just tweet." Urging the crowd, especially the young to go out and vote, Obama said in "2008 you gave me a chance, a skinny guy with a funny name."

"I'm betting on you one more time," he said, expressing confidence that on election day, the American people will not vote for a candidate who denigrates their daughters from the highest office in the land or looks at people with differences as objects and with suspicion. "Tomorrow America will reject politics of resentment and blame, you will reject fear and chose hope," he said.

PTI