Kicking off a whirlwind four-stop tour on the final day of campaigning, Hillary Clinton on Monday appealed to Republicans, moderates, and even coal miners by casting Donald Trump as a uniquely unqualified candidate and one who has risen to political prominence with a “hate-filled” vision of America.
Campaigning in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Clinton said the usual dividing lines of past elections no longer apply, and that all clear-thinking conservatives should reject Mr. Trump
“I’ve known a lot of the Republicans who have run for president, been elected president in recent history. I didn’t agree with them on everything, obviously. … But I didn’t doubt they were fit to serve as president,” Mrs. Clinton told an audience during her first of four speeches Monday.
“This election is different,” she continued. “This person is temperamentally unqualified, experientially unqualified to be commander in chief, and so many people know that. So, I think we do need some more love and kindness. We have got to rise above all of this hate-filled rhetoric, all of these insults and scapegoating, and finger-pointing and insulting.”
The Pittsburgh rally is the first of two Pennsylvania events Monday. Later in the evening, Mrs. Clinton will appear alongside President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Bruce Springsteen, and other politicians and celebrities for a star-studded rally in the Philadelphia.
The events underscore the electoral importance of the Keystone State. A Clinton win in Pennsylvania would put up a major road block for Mr. Trump and make it difficult for the billionaire to get the needed 270 electoral votes.
The latest Real Clear Politics average of all polls gives Mrs. Clinton a 2.8-point lead. She’s been ahead in virtually every Pennsylvania poll conducted since mid-summer.
Still, the former first lady is taking nothing for granted. At her Pittsburgh rally, she singled out a man holding a “coal miners for Hillary” sign, vowing that she’ll work to retrain out-of-work miners in states across Appalachia.
“I will not forget you, and I will do everything I can to help people who have given so much, worked so hard, throughout their lives … to build this country,” she said. “We are not going to forget any Americans.”
Mrs. Clinton also will speak in Michigan Monday afternoon before traveling to Philadelphia. She’ll also speak at a late-night rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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