The Big Dawg came through
Last night at the Democratic Convention Bill Clinton came out swinging and gave one of his best speeches ever, boldly stating right up front -- "Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States."
Now was that so hard, Bill?
Those who thought he would never match his wife's enthusiastic backing of her former rival needn't have worried.
You know, Bill's political life seems to follow a certain pattern -- he rides high and he falls low...but he always finds a way to redeem himself when he is down. He did it again with this speech.
If there were any Democrats in that audience who were still pissed at Bill Clinton for his behavior during the primaries, they were drowned out by all the wild cheering that erupted when he took the podium.
Everyone seemed to leap to their feet in a frenzy of screaming and flag waving...I thought they never would shut up.
It crossed my mind that he would get carried away and suddenly accept the Democratic nomination.
Hillary really laughed when he was trying to shush the cheering and said, "As much as I love this..." Because she knows how much he revels in the limelight and the applause. You know he misses it.
Yet, he put most of his ego on the back burner, and restored his position as the patriarch and elder statesman of the Democratic Party. He spoke about our lives, our hopes, our possibilities...the world we live in and the world we want to create.
He was a statesman in his assessment of where this country is and how desperately we need reform and change...and how we need to restore diplomacy, wisdom and prudence overseas. He really nailed it with this line:
"People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."
Gosh, remember when Preznits were lucid and could speak complete sentences and stuff?
He also nailed it when he brought up the obvious similarity of Barack in ‘08 and Bill in ‘92 -- “The Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be commander in chief. Sound familiar?” Zing!
This speech definitely helped heal the Democratic Party, and will help Obama in the general election. Obama would be wise to draw on Bill extensively in the days ahead.
Of course, Bill had to get a couple of chops in about his own administration, contrasting how much better Americans lived -- peace, prosperity, etc. -- under his administration versus under George W. Bush’s. But we can allow him that, because he tied it in nicely with Obama's presidency.
Yes, Bill was a mixed blessing on the primary campaign trail...he worked tirelessly for his wife, but often strayed off message and delivered angry, finger-wagging tirades.
That was the worst of Bill Clinton...last night we saw the best.
BTW -- Someone needs to find the wiseguy who is choosing music for the convention and smack him. "Chain of Fools" was on the music track after Obama formally clinched the nomination...and "Addicted to Love" was played when Clinton was leaving the stage.
