WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama said he would take it as a "personal insult" if the African-American community does not turn out for the November presidential elections. Encouraging black voters to support Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, Obama said his name may not be on the ballot, but issues of importance to the black community were there, including justice, good schools and ending mass incarceration.
Delivering his final keynote address to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Obama said, "I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good sendoff, go vote."
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton made a dashing first public appearance after being diagnosed with pneumonia. The former secretary of state used her experience to make a brand new call for better provision of healthcare and family leave. "Being on the trail does not encourage reflection. It's important to sit with your thoughts every now and again and this helped me to reflect on what this campaign is all about," she spoke to young students at the University of North Carolina. "For millions of moms and dads, if they get sick there is no backup, they are on their own. That's the story for too many people in America." Clinton called back on her campaign messages on the economy and social justice. "I have been involved in politics for many years. It's not an easy business. Sometimes it can be rough. People accuse me of all kinds of things, but nobody ever accused me of quitting and I will never ever give up."
As the health of Clinton and Donald Trump became a campaign issue, both of them moved to show their medical fitness for the White House as Clinton released a letter from her doctor declaring her fit for the presidency and Trump taped a TV-segment about his well-being.
Clinton, 68, is healthy and fit to serve as president and is currently recovering from non-contagious, bacterial pneumonia, her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, said in a letter about the Democratic nominee’s medical condition. Trump, 70, knows he could stand to lose a few pounds but otherwise is in great health, campaign adviser Sarah Huckabee Sanders told MSNBC after the Republican nominee taped an episode of the “Dr. Oz Show” in New York.
Bardack, in her letter about Clinton, wrote: “She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest. She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States.” The announcements came as Clinton spent a third day resting at her home in Chappaqua, New York, after falling ill on a Sept. 11 memorial in New York City. Video footage taken by a bystander showed Clinton becoming dizzy as she attempted to get into a waiting vehicle. Her campaign said later in the day that the former secretary of state had been diagnosed with pneumonia.
