President Joe Biden delivered his valedictory address to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, saying, 맥스카지노�I gave my best to you맥스카지노� and basking in a long ovation that reflected the energy released by his decision to cede the stage to Vice President Kamala Harris.Biden, 81, received a hero맥스카지노�s welcome weeks after many in his party were pressuring him to drop his bid for reelection. One month after an unprecedented mid-campaign switch, the opening night of the convention in Chicago was designed to give a graceful exit to the incumbent president and slingshot Harris toward a faceoff with Republican Donald Trump, whose comeback bid for the White House is viewed by Democrats as an existential threat.On Monday, Biden insisted he did not harbor any ill will about the impending end of his tenure 맥스카지노� despite reports to the contrary 맥스카지노� and called on the party to unite around Harris.맥스카지노�I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,맥스카지노� Biden said.Speaking clearly and energetically, Biden relished the chance to defend his record, advocate for his vice president and go on the attack against Trump. His delivery was more reminiscent of the Biden who won in 2020 than the mumbling and sometimes incoherent one-time candidate whose debate performance sparked the downfall of his reelection campaign.Visibly emotional when he took the stage, Biden was greeted by a more than four-minute-long ovation and chants of 맥스카지노�Thank you Joe.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�America, I love you,맥스카지노� he replied.He called his selection of Harris as his running mate four years ago 맥스카지노�the very first decision I made when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�She맥스카지노�s tough, she맥스카지노�s experienced and she has enormous integrity, enormous integrity,맥스카지노� he said. 맥스카지노�Her story represents the best American story."맥스카지노�And like many of our best presidents,맥스카지노� he added in a nod to his own career, 맥스카지노�she was also vice president.맥스카지노�Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff came out after his address to embrace him and his family.맥스카지노�Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you맥스카지노�ll continue to do,맥스카지노� she said earlier in the evening. 맥스카지노�We are forever grateful to you.맥스카지노�The president touted his proudest accomplishmentsBiden's speech, billed as the marquee event of the evening, was pushed into late night as the convention program lagged more than an hour behind schedule. The delay led convention organizers to cancel a performance from legendary musician James Taylor.He celebrated the successes from his administration, including a massive boost in infrastructure spending and a cap on the price of insulin. The spending resulted in more money going to Republican-leaning states than Democratic states, he said, because 맥스카지노�the job of the president is to deliver for all of America.맥스카지노�The president recalled the 2017 맥스카지노�unite the right맥스카지노� rally, when torch-carrying white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, an episode he cites as cementing his decision to run for president in 2020 despite his ongoing grief over the death of his son Beau Biden.First lady Jill Biden alluded to her husband's wrenching decision to leave the race in her remarks minutes before Biden took the stage. She said she fell in love with him all over again "just weeks ago, when I saw him dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek reelection and endorse Kamala Harris.맥스카지노�Monday's speakers tried to boost both Biden and HarrisA long list of high-profile speakers tried to connect both Biden and Harris to what the party sees as the governing pair's most popular accomplishments.Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was greeted with prolonged applause, saluted Harris while noting her potential to break the 맥스카지노�highest, hardest glass ceiling맥스카지노� to become America맥스카지노�s first female president. Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016, but she lost that election to Trump.맥스카지노�Together, we맥스카지노�ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling,맥스카지노� Clinton said, invoking a metaphor she referenced in her concession speech eight years ago. 맥스카지노�On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States. When a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us.맥스카지노�Clinton also saluted Biden for stepping aside, saying, 맥스카지노�Now we are writing a new chapter in America맥스카지노�s story.맥스카지노�Highlighting the party맥스카지노�s generational reach, Clinton, 76, followed New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 34, who endorsed Harris while delivering the first mention of the war in Gaza from the convention stage, addressing an issue that has split the party맥스카지노�s base ever since Hamas맥스카지노� Oct. 7 attack and Israel맥스카지노�s resulting offensive.Biden tells antiwar protesters they 맥스카지노�have a point맥스카지노�Outside the arena, thousands of protesters descended on Chicago to decry the Biden-Harris administration맥스카지노�s support for the Israeli war effort.Israel맥스카지노�s counterattack in Gaza after more than 1,200 were killed and about 250 taken hostage on Oct. 7 has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Pro-Palestinian activists held a panel earlier Monday in which they discussed the plight of Gaza, in what organizers called a first for the DNC.A couple of protesters from the Abandon Biden movement unfurled a protest sign late Monday that read, 맥스카지노�STOP ARMING ISRAEL맥스카지노� a few minutes after Biden began his speech.The sign was quickly wrestled away from the protesters and the lights in that section of the convention were turned off. Others in the hall responded to the protest by chanting 맥스카지노�We love Joe맥스카지노� and holding up their banners in support of the president.Biden acknowledged the protests as he spoke, saying, 맥스카지노�Those protesters out in the street have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides." He reiterated his push to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal that would also see the release of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.Democrats presented a giant version of 맥스카지노�Project 2025맥스카지노�Meanwhile, Democrats also looked to keep the focus on Trump, whose criminal convictions they mocked and who they asserted was only fighting for himself, rather than 맥스카지노�for the people맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� the night's official theme.Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow hoisted an oversized copy of 맥스카지노�Project 2025맥스카지노� 맥스카지노� a blueprint for a second Trump term that was put together by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank 맥스카지노� onto the lectern and quoted from portions of it.Democrats kept abortion access front and center for voters, betting that the issue will propel them to success as it has in other key races since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. Speakers Monday included women whose healthcare suffered as a result of that decision, and one woman who was raped and became pregnant by her stepfather attacked Trump for trying to roll back access to abortion. The convention program included a video of Trump praising his own role in getting Roe struck down.The convention program also honored the civil rights movement, with an appearance from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the founder of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, who is ailing with Parkinson맥스카지노�s disease. There were several references to Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights activist who gave a landmark speech at a Democratic convention in 1964.Hamer was a former sharecropper and a leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a racially integrated group that challenged the seating of an all-white Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Hamer spoke on Aug. 22, 1964 맥스카지노� exactly 60 years before Harris is set to accept the Democratic nomination and become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to be the presidential nominee of a major party.