PHILADELPHIA _ President Barack Obama's pitch for Hillary Clinton in front of a prime-time Democratic convention audience Wednesday was intended to home in on her temperament to do the job, drawing a contrast from what Obama sees as Donald Trump's lack of fitness to serve as commander in chief.
"There has never been a man or a woman more qualified" to serve in the office than his former secretary of state, Obama was to declare on a night that also served as the nation's introduction to her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
"Nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office," Obama planned to say, according to advance excerpts. "Until you've sat at that desk, you don't know what it's like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary's been in the room; she's been part of those decisions.
" ... Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect."
Obama was also guided by his convictions about Trump.
"What I think is scary is a president who doesn't know their stuff and doesn't seem to have an interest in learning what they don't know," Obama said in an interview broadcast on NBC's "Today" on Wednesday.
The president's active role in the race to succeed him has little recent precedent. He is driven in part by the preservation of his own legacy, much of which rests on whether his successor preserves his administration's actions on climate, foreign policy and other major issues.
His argument Wednesday, focused on how Clinton carried herself in particular in the Situation Room during the most sensitive and tense moments of his first term, fit neatly into the bigger case Democrats were making on the convention's third night. The lineup included Vice President Joe Biden, former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other ex-military officials.
But the most powerful evidence for their argument may have come from Trump himself. Earlier Wednesday, he encouraged Russian operatives to hack Clinton's personal emails, a stunning claim from a figure who has long tested credulity and the limits of political discourse.
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you'll be able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," he said, referring to deleted emails from the private account Hillary Clinton used as secretary of state. "I think you'll probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Clinton's campaign reacted swiftly.
"This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent," senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "That's not hyperbole; those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue."
Trump's own running mate appeared to try to temper the nominee's assertion. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said that if it were proven that Russia was behind another hack, into Democratic National Committee emails, with an intent to influence U.S. elections, "I can assure you both parties and the United States government will ensure there are serious consequences."
Clinton's strongest case for her election has been built on the contrast with her rival, much as Democrats have sought to use this week's convention to positively portray their nominee and the historic nature of her candidacy. Her campaign has painted him as erratic and running for president in a self-interested pursuit of greater wealth and fame.
Obama also planned to argue that Clinton will be steady and calm where Trump is unpredictable _ another way of saying that he fails the commander-in-chief and chief-executive tests.
Biden, who has worked with Clinton for decades, was to echo some of the same themes.
Kaine, known on Capitol Hill for his friendly attitude, was formally nominated for vice president earlier in the day and will try to prove his mettle as someone who can serve in the traditional attack role for running mates.
"There is sure to be some happy warrior elements to his speech because that's part of the reason why he's such a huge value add to the ticket," said Lynda Tran, a Democratic strategist who worked in Kaine's administration as Virginia governor. "That trait in him has proven to be devastating to his opponents in the past. Because as Hillary Clinton said the other day, he comes at you with a smile, but he's got a backbone of steel."
Democrats were unsparing in the attacks on Trump, who was alternately described as a carnival barker, an egomaniac and "a hateful con man," in the words of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
"It's time to put a bully racist in his place," said former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who lost to Clinton in the primaries.
Obama intended to drive home the idea in the evening's finale, endorsing Clinton as the fierce former rival who later became one of his most important and trusted advisers.
Recognizing that the convention is traditionally a moment when voter sentiments can shift dramatically, he wanted to focus on Clinton rather than his own administration.
Obama sees himself as a witness who can describe her in action, an adviser said.
"Few people actually are at the table when some of these momentous decisions are being made," said the adviser, who would not be named discussing Obama's speech before he delivered it. "It's about revealing experiences he has had."
The White House worked closely with Clinton's campaign to prepare for the president's role. White House aides say they have largely deferred to her team in Brooklyn, trusting some of the same officials now working for her who also helped guide Obama twice to victory.
As the first lady sought to do Monday, Obama also intended to focus on what unites the country _ a coda 12 years to the day of the Democratic convention speech that launched his career in national politics when he declared that there were no red states or blue states, but one United States of America.
