To the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits...
Hillary Clinton delivered the political speech of her career last night, paving the way for the rest of this convention to be about winning in November...not about some pissed off group of sore losers.
She definitely had a message for the PUMA's (which stands for "Party unity my ass"). To paraphrase -- 'I did not work this hard or come this far to have a bunch of soreheads cut off their noses to spite their faces and elect John McCain...one of the worst misogynists ever to run for president."
At the beginning of the speech the camera focused on Bill Clinton in the audience and he kept saying (really mouthing), "I love you, I love you, I love you." That was a great personal moment...he could not have looked prouder of her at the beginning nor at the end of the speech.
Maybe the key to what keeps them together through thick and thin is the turn-on of politics. Kinky.
She was gracious and enthusiastic in her words of support for the Obama-Biden ticket. Her speech will go a long way toward securing the party unity.
I wonder if Obama is sitting somewhere thinking about whether he made a mistake in not picking her as VP?
She delivered a powerful speech to an audience that returned her emotion, enthusiasm and passion. You could see the admiration in those faces for this woman who has changed the course of presidential politics forever. She put every one of those 18 million cracks in the commander in chief ceiling.
She thanked her supporters, calling them her champions -- "my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history."
Here is the part that really touched me:
[...] "You know, America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to every challenge in every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good. And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America.
I'm a United States senator because, in 1848, a group of courageous women, and a few brave men, gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history.
And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter, and a few sons and grandsons along the way.
These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes and imagined a fairer and freer world and found the strength to fight, to rally, to picket, to endure ridicule and harassment, and brave violence and jail.
And after so many decades, 88 years ago on this very day, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, became enshrined in our Constitution.
My mother was born before women could vote. My daughter got to vote for her mother for president. This is the story of America, of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.
So how do we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to bring slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.
On that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice: "If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going."
And even in the darkest moments, that is what Americans have done. We have found the faith to keep going.
I have seen it. I have seen it in our teachers and our firefighters, our police officers, our nurses, our small-business owners, and our union workers. I've seen it in the men and women of our military.
In America, you always keep going. We're Americans. We're not big on quitting.[..]"
Loved --"No way. No how. No McCain."
Also --"It's fitting that John McCain and George Bush will be meeting in the Twin Cities next week, because it's getting pretty hard to tell them apart."
Attack attack attack, she didn’t give McCain an inch, and yet there was strong, very strong advocacy for Obama.
I'm expecting more McCain/Bush attacks from the Big Dawg, that is if he can keep his ego zipped. It would be a very good way for him to earn some respect back from those he pissed off during the primaries.
Biden will be another good attack dog...leaving Obama above the fray. A gripe I have with Obama is that he wants to be Mister Rogers of the lovely day in the neighborhood instead of a down and dirty fighter. But then again, Obama routinely speaks against what he calls the ‘‘divisive politics that is all about tearing people down instead of lifting this country up.’’
Anyway, the RNC better be wearing a cup because this is not the Democratic Party of 2004.
