The anticipation for Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention was so great that it’s not clear what he could have done to exceed those high expectations. His 50-minute oration was classic Clinton, cajoling, seducing, lecturing and attacking. The Democrats in the hall loved every second of it even if television networks and many of their viewers may have switched off long before he finally concluded. Nor is there any doubt most of the media will also applaud it. But those who somehow expected Clinton to magically rescue Barack Obama’s re-election campaign with this one speech may ultimately be disappointed.
What Clinton did do was deliver a full-throated defense of President Obama’s failures and an equally strong dissection of his Republican opponents even if his detailed takedowns of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan may not survive fair fact checking. Though much of what he said was more spin than reality as well as being a laundry list of liberal talking points, these were effective arguments. But what he did not and perhaps could not do was make a case for what a second Obama administration would do. Nor, despite his attempt to use the example of his own success in turning around an economy to show that Obama might do the same, did he bridge the gap between his own move to the center and his successor’s consistent lurch to the left. More than that, it’s not clear that Clinton’s looking into the camera and telling us he believed in what he said with “all his heart” will have the least effect on the electorate.
The best that Clinton could do was to tell us that Obama deserved that “incomplete” the president said he deserved as his grade on the economy. To justify this judgment, the former president went on long wonkish digressions in his trademark style. That satisfied Clinton’s desire to lecture the country in his usual self-indulgent manner. But it fell short of the soaring rhetoric that could truly rally the country behind Obama.
Clinton’s longwinded endorsement of the president may help Obama keep Democrats in the fold. That is not unimportant. Democrats love Clinton and would, probably have sat through even another 50 minutes of his speechifying and perhaps even would prefer to give him a third term rather than a second for the incumbent. And that’s the rub with having to employ the 42nd president on behalf of the 44th.
For all of the raves Clinton will get from liberals who enjoyed the shots he took at Romney and Ryan, very little of this will attach itself to Obama. Though the speech had its powerful moments, we never stopped thinking about Clinton’s ego and his desire to hog the podium even while the president stood waiting, no doubt impatiently, for him to finally wind it up. Though this was probably a better argument that Obama could make for himself, it is a stretch to believe people will believe the president deserves a pass for his struggles just because Clinton says he deserved one.
Clinton’s detailed explanations also don’t recapture Obama’s 2008 “hope and change” messianism that he desperately needs to offset his shaky record. The night was a triumph for Clinton but Obama is still left locked in a tight, difficult race hoping desperately to be rescued by good economic news in the next several weeks. That, and not any speech by Clinton, is the only magic elixir that can re-elect him.
Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. GHWB was the 41st.
Bill Clinton also gave his speech at an inopportune time. Far more people watched the Cowboys defeat the Giants. The game was very exciting, a real nail biter, and I am sure few switched channels.
@Davidthomson1 What we will never be able to count are the number of people who recorded the speech, watched it on live streaming, and on video today. We now that millions more than watched it on TV will have seen it today now that the word is out as to how great it was! Also, Paul Ryan's speech was upstaged by more people watching "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" the rednect reality show! I would rather be upstaged by football. Honey Boo Boo is repeated several times during the week, before the next episode, and yet, people opted to watch it instead of Ryan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill Clinton wove in constant reminders of himself. From his theme song "Don't stop thinking about tomorrow." to saying he had someone in mind for President (everyone thought: Hillary!) to reusing the phrase, "We will come back." It was astounding, but the audience didn't catch it because they didn't want to. The final bow, reminding people that, while Hillary is out there trying to kick ass, Obama bows to foreign leaders. Masterful Bill Clinton.
> But what he did not and perhaps could not do was make a case for what a n> second Obama administration would do. n n nThat case should be made by Obama himself. n nWherever Romney was being deliberately vague and evasive, Obama should clearly outline his policies for helping the middle class in 2013 while making a strong case for reducing the deficit from 2014 onwards through a combination of tax hikes for the rich and spending cuts.
"That case should be made by Obama himself." Bingo. The question asked at the top of the post answers itself, methinks.
All Clinton's speech did was to remind the democratic loyalists how the party leaders betrayed them 4 years ago. The delegates elected Hillary, while the party leaders led by the Kennedy's, betrayed that trust and override the people with their superdelegate votes for Obama. Bill just underscored how incompetent the DNC happens to be and how they made one hell of a mistake four years ago.
"The night was a triumph for Clinton but Obama is still left locked in a tight, difficult race hoping desperately to be rescued by good economic news in the next several weeks. That, and not any speech by Clinton, is the only magic elixir that can re-elect him." n nI hope you realize that the media has good news to break on behalf of their candidate, right? Fake but good…
What is disgusting is watching a former president, who once declared "the era of big government is over" , throw away his economic values to help a president who wants to and has increased government to to the extreme, to get elected. Clinton knows BHO has brought our country to the brink of collapse, but does not care.
Mr. Tobin – You say, " Though much of what he said was more spin than reality as well as being a laundry list of liberal talking points, these were effective arguments", after you write this, "even if his detailed takedowns of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan may not survive fair fact checking." I think the two comments are mutually exclusive. As I watched the speech, I anticipated the discussion of it that will ensue, and it won't be favorable to the Democrats. After all, Clinton lied and misled. A bunch. Do the Democrats really want to see all of these issues dragged out once more into the sunlight? Medicare, welfare, spending, etc. What Clinton did, by "getting in the weeds" on these issues (as Paul Mirengoff said in his live-blog last night) was give Republicans yet another chance to blast away on them. At any rate, maybe the audience there loved watching the misogynist in chief steal the thunder at their women's rights rally, or whatever it is they are up to in NC, but I for one was bored to death as he prattled on. I suspect most non-committed voters weren't tuning in all that closely. "Now listen to this", "This is really important." He sounded like the National Nag, trying to get the (ignorant) children to pay attention. Appropriate when talking to a stadium full of worshippers of The One, but not so appealing to the rest of the country.
true- I switched channels half way through…throughly ineffective speech and will not move the needle an iota-except fuel more anticipation for Hillary to run again!
Clinton can't save Obama anymore than Ryan can save Romney. n nBut it was a good speech and I do think he can help Obama in that he can strengthen the motivation to give Obama four more years. That motivation exists. It’s the reason his approval rating isn’t at 30% n nDemocrats are asking the rich to find the humility and patriotism to contribute a greater sum to increase revenue, and Republicans are asking everyone who is not an entrepreneur to find the humility and patriotism to admit their needs are secondary but will be met by “doubling down on trickle down.” n nClinton can continue to help Obama if he campaigns for him because he’ll keep the uneasiness about Romney and Ryan alive. n nWhile the Republican convention helped Romney some, it still hasn’t given the electorate a place to hold onto. The only way Romney can do that is to be convincing about his plans for jobs and causing no punishing unraveling of his own.
Obama isn't at 30% for two reasons 1) he gets great press and his predecessor was and is such an acceptible bete noir for the press that his constant blaming of his predecessor is put forward with little perspective. 2) the public feels really uncomfortable critiquing Obama for complex reasons having to do with race. He doesn't come in for the same kind of ridicule as typical modern presidents. Criticisms of him are labeled racist. A more open debate about his record and performance without critiques being met with accusations of racism would have led to a watershed being reached that Obama is worse than Carter.
He does get great press. And President Bush was not able to attend the convention of his own party. That has very little to do with President Obama's excuse making. n nAs to your second point, I don't think it's a question of being afraid of being labeled racist. It's more a matter of fear of moving backward, fear of the conditions that occurred during President Bush's 8 years. Wars that spun out of control, cost us the blood of our young and trillions (off the books?) all without one citizen being asked to buy a war bond. n nEach side has avoided really tackling issues. Republicans won't talk about Medicaid cuts to nursing homes and Democrats won't talk about our duties to our family members and the immorality of foisting them (in major part) on the taxpayer.
cont… n nPeople are aware of Obama's defects. But they don't hate him, and comparatively speaking, his defects don't compare so poorly with those of other presidents. n nIt's entirely possible that President Obama will squander the boost that Clinton gave him last night. But it's up to Romney to make the case for himself. He can't do that by issuing vids saying it's okay to break up with Obama. It's a callow ploy when repeated. n nLastly, conservatives have Fox News, the Internet, Rush Limbaugh. Obama has been criticized. Limbaugh wanted him to fail, and at the convention Romney reversed that wish.
Dangit – why do you have to be so blasted objective? I appreciate your comments because on the fundamentals we agree. You seem, however, to view things a little less, shall I say, dispassionately than I do at times – which is good. nThere are a few things here that I'd like to comment on, but since dinner is ready, I'll limit it to one for now: n"His defects don't compare so poorly with those of other presidents" – I'm curious what you think his major defects are and which ones you are thinking of in other presidents. Because, frankly, I see him as a giant flop who compares poorly to most presidents!
He’s an ideologue, in that way he’s inferior to President Bush who is not. But President Bush involved the US in two wars, which he gave up defending and which led to a destabilization of the Country. n nPresident Obama has added more debt, has combined a new health care plan with a system that has its own defects, blessing pharma and devaluing surgeons, creating the worst of all duty-free worlds but the individual mandate and the exchanges are a bi-partisan creation. In terms of the debilitating national direction between war and health care, the upside to war is that at some point it has to end but an IPAB can live forever. n nObama is a run of the mill, unserious, spoiled, over-schooled and under-educated pol. LBJ was much worse. Body bags, body bags, body bags. n nI think Obama has no way of convincing people he can right this ship of State but that doesn’t guarantee a win for Romney. He'll have to earn it and I hope he does.
Clinton appealed directly to the independents and did a good , if not totally honest rehash of Obama's tenure. He wants Obama to win so that Hillary does not have to be afraid of running against him in a primary battle. He was very effective and must be countered if he wants to win the undecideds. His pitch was "believe me and not your lying eyes".
I saw a polished actor and liar, a cradle robbing blow job king who somehow is the Democrats' Great White Hope. n nTo have this exploiter of women speak at a War On Women Conference and have audience members swoon is to marvel at the power of charisma over intellect. n nWhile I could not bear to listen to the whole speech, the skinny Preezy of the United Steezy, coming out after cooling his heels while the windbag droned on like a cross between a schoolmarm and a Gold star preacher-hustler, singing Obama's praises to the heavens, did not strike me as dignified to the Office. n nObama looked weak standing beside Clinton, who looked like a well groomed hustler. Does not reflect well on Obama, I think.