Bill Clinton Delivers

28 August 2008 |permalink | email article

Hours after Hillary Clinton moved to make the nomination of Barack Obama by acclamation – making him the first African-American to become a major party nominee for president – Bill Clinton made the pivotal speech of the Democratic convention.

The 42nd president buried his bitter disappointment at the failure of a Clinton restoration and unequivocally threw his full support to Obama.

Besides making the case that the Illinois senator is ready to be commander-in-chief, Clinton ratified Obama’s choice of Biden as his running mate, even if it was not his wife.

“Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I’ve done since, in America and across the globe has convinced me that Obama is the man for the job.”

Clinton made a point of noting that 16 years ago when he was a candidate for president, critics called him too young and too inexperienced to lead the nation.

Biden, accepting the nomination for vice president in a surprisingly low key but emotional speech, did deliver a blistering indictment of McCain “on the most important national security issues of our time.”

Obama made a surprise appearance on stage after Biden spoke, igniting the convention and pledging in his acceptance speech tonight before more than 70,000 at Invesco Field to “take America back.”

It will be compared with the “New Frontier” speech of John F. Kennedy which electrified the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 15, 1960, widely regarded as reassuring wary voters he could lead the nation. Estimates had the crowd at between 50,000 and 80,000. 

Quotes

“I would give him a C.” – Republican strategist Mike Murphy grading George Bush on MSNBC. Murphy, not working for McCain this year, also volunteered on the cable network that he strongly believes, despite their strong endorsements of Obama, the Clintons will cast their ballots for McCain. 

“I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House…Hillary’s right, John McCain for president.” – A new ad designed by the McCain campaign to foment the idea that Obama is not ready to lead, using her words from the protracted Democratic primary.

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