Clinton Delivers Key Democratic Platform Address

By a long shot, Hillary Clinton's address to the Democratic Convention was the best convention speech so far, and ranks with her victory speech in Pennsylvania and her concession speech in Washington, DC as one of the greatest of her campaign. This easily places her in the ranks with Obama and his already-famous Race Speech, and his 2004 DNC Keynote Address, "The Audacity of Hope."

Tuesday night, addressing assembled Democrats and supporters, Clinton drew the first true standing ovations, deafening applause and emotional response; she endorsed Obama right away and came out swinging, went after McCain and the GOP with both barrels. She was in her element and it was clear she was enjoying it, although she did show a moment's wistfulness while discussing her own presidential campaign, something for which she cannot be blamed. In fact, the brief moment where she appeared lost for words, and a bit misty-eyed watching the crowd go wild for her was probably to her credit, just like her much-maligned "New Hampshire Moment," which she made reference to later, saying, "Yes, you even made me cry."

Clinton hit the mark, hit it out of the park in fact. She managed to thank and congratulate her supporters while simultaneously reminding them that it is not just about her, her candidacy, or even about Obama-mania, but about the American people who have supported her and the Democratic party:

"Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

She soundly repudiated rumors that she is secretly rooting for McCain, and managed to pass her entire campaign mantle to Obama, drawing a laundry list of comparisons between herself and Obama, giving ample concrete examples to underscore her repeated claim that she and Senator Obama have more in common than they have disagreements. Just as we saw in the final months and weeks of her campaign, Clinton was on message, on point and on her game, so much so that her podium time was extended due to applause by as much as ten minutes (twice a long as some speakers entire allotted time.)

Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday still remains to be seen. No doubt it will be grand, exciting and often quoted. However, I believe Clinton scored the home run of the Convention. She has also hit the ball into McCain's court, a hard, overhand serve. So far, the GOP is sputtering from such a hard hit, and has only managed to come back with a desperate attempt to find a crack in the unequivocal support shown for Obama and for a Democratic win in November, which one no one is taking seriously. Clinton smartly acknowledged her personal feelings for John McCain, then shot down his political agenda, unquestioningly:

Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend. He has served our country with honor and courage. But we don't need four more years . . . of the last eight years. More economic stagnation ...and less affordable health care. More high gas prices ...and less alternative energy. More jobs getting shipped overseas ...and fewer jobs created here. More skyrocketing debt ...home foreclosures ...and mounting bills that are crushing our middle class families. More war . . . less diplomacy. More of a government where the privileged come first ...and everyone else comes last. John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's okay when women don't earn equal pay for equal work. With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.

More than her strong endorsements of Obama, or her impassioned plea for unity, or her own moving story, this denouncement of McCain, the GOP and the failed conservative agenda of the last 8 years should make it clear that the GOP has a lot of work to do to close the deal, and it just got a lot harder. Rather than being left wondering if Hillary Clinton staged a final campaign push for herself, anyone who watched Clinton's speech Tuesday night should now be wondering, "What can the Republicans possibly do to combat that?"

Clinton delivered the key speech of the Convention. In a single half hour spot, she anointed Barack Obama as everyone's choice for the Democratic nomination, outlined the Democratic platform for the General Election and the next four years, and may well have shattered that "highest, hardest glass ceiling." Even though she did not win the Democratic nomination, I believe there is no longer any doubt that a woman can run for President now, and can be taken seriously, and can win. If it will be Hillary Clinton or not remains to be seen as well, but she will get the credit for being the person who made it possible.