Remembering war, grateful Bosnians rally for Clinton

Residents of Sarajevo expressed Saturday their support for Hillary Clinton in the upcoming US presidential election based in part on the role her husband’s administration had in ending Bosnia’s devastating war during the 1990s.

Several hundred people turned out for the “Sarajevo Votes for Clinton” event organized by activists through social networks.
Participants said supporting Clinton means supporting the values of a civilized society and showing resistance to hatred and segregation.
When Bill Clinton was president, his administration was credited with helping end the 1992-95 war in Bosnia which took over 100,000 lives and included a four-year siege of Sarajevo.
US-led NATO airstrikes against the Serb artillery pounding the capital and a peace agreement brokered by American negotiators finally ended the war.
At Saturday’s rally, Sarajevans signed a joint message and thank you card addressed to Hillary Clinton.
“We ... are with you, respected Madam Secretary, as you were with us so many times. Together we are strong and will win, as we always do,” the message read.
Meanwhile, Clinton’s campaign is increasingly preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump may never concede the presidential election should she win, a development that could enormously complicate the crucial early weeks of her preparations to take office.
Aiming to undermine any argument the Republican nominee may make about a “rigged” election, she hopes to roll up a large electoral vote margin in next month’s election. That could repudiate the New York billionaire’s message and project a governing mandate after the bitter, divisive presidential race.
Clinton’s team is also keeping a close eye on statements by national Republican leaders, predicting they could play an important role in how Trump’s accusations of electoral fraud might be perceived. That’s according to several Clinton campaign aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal strategy.
Campaign officials stress they are not taking the outcome of the election for granted. But Clinton and her team have begun thinking about how to position their candidate during the postelection period. Long one of the country’s most polarizing political figures, Clinton has begun telling audiences she’ll need their help in healing the country.
“I’ve got to figure out how we heal these divides,” she said in a Friday interview with a Tampa radio station WBTP. “We’ve got to get together. Maybe that’s a role that is meant to be for my presidency if I’m so fortunate to be there.”
Trump also launched a rare attack on Michelle Obama, saying “all she wants to do is campaign” for his rival.
He also accused the first lady of attacking Hillary Clinton in 2007 by invoking a line she had said about fitness to run the White House.
On the other hand, a refusal by Trump to accept the election results would not only upend a basic tenet of American democracy, but also force Clinton to create a new playbook for handling the transfer of power. And a narrow victory would make it more difficult for her to claim substantial political capital at the start of her administration.
“Donald is still going to whine if he loses. But if the mandate is clear, I don’t think many people will follow him,” said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

Source: Arab News