CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- US President Barack Obama appeared on stage at the Democratic National Convention briefly Wednesday night to join a packed arena in applauding Bill Clinton, who formally nominated the president for a second term heading the Democratic ticket.
Clinton went well past his allotted time at the event extolling Obama's virtues and slamming the Republican approach on domestic issues such as the job creation and taxes.
He also praised Obama for his handling of defense and foreign policy.
"President Obama's whole record on national security is a tribute to his strength, to his judgment and to his preference for inclusion and partnership over partisanship," Clinton declared.
He offered a very personal example of Obama's willingness to be inclusive.
"President Obama appointed several members of his cabinet even though they supported Hillary in the primary," he said, recalling the bitter fight for the Democratic nomination Obama waged with his wife, who now serves as secretary of state. "Heck, he even appointed Hillary." Hillary Clinton is currently on a trip to Asia and will not be appearing at the 2012 convention.
Bill Clinton continued, "I am grateful that they have worked together to make us safer and stronger, to build a world with more partners and fewer enemies."
He added the "relationship of respect and partnership" between his wife and Obama send a signal "to the rest of the world that democracy does not have to be a bloodsport; it can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest."
Most of Clinton's speech, however, was devoted to rebutting the arguments against Obama made at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last week. He spent the vast amount of his lengthy speech on domestic topics such as the economy and health care.
His words were exuberantly received by convention-goers, who at times broke into shouts of "four more years." They also wildly applauded when Obama himself came out at the conclusion of Clinton's remarks in his first appearance at the DNC convention. Obama applauded the former president's speech and gave him a hug before accompanying him off stage.
Obama will be delivering his marquee address Thursday night on the final nights of the convention. The speech was originally scheduled to take place in an outdoor stadium, but the DNC announced Wednesday that it would instead be held inside the Time Warner Cable Arena due to concerns about the weather.
The crowds trying to get into the arena Wednesday night were already massive, with fire marshalls preventing hundreds from entering ahead of Clinton's speech.