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Bill Bonds Himself Emotionally To Obama On Readiness, Hope

Bill Clinton did two things in his speech: Offered a full-throated endorsement of Obama's readiness to do the job he did; and harnessed the emotional power of nostalgic memories of his own victory and presidency in order to galvanize Democrats and swing them fully behind Obama.

Bill sought to dispel questions about Obama's readiness by linking Obama's experience of presidential politics directly to his own: Bill, too, was tarred as too youthful and unready to lead America in a dangerous world...

My fellow Democrats, sixteen years ago, you gave me the profound honor to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity.

Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.

During the primary, the Clintons sought to turn Obama's youth and inexperience against him; at a time when McCain is attacking Obama's readiness daily, and even using the words of the Clintons to do this, Bill sought to dispel these attacks by evoking Democrats' nostalgia for his own successful triumph over similar attacks 16 years ago.

Again and again, Bill attested to Obama's commander in chief readiness -- something that Hillary questioned during the primary, leaving her hamstrung and unable to make the case Bill did tonight.

"He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges," Bill said.

Bill also attested to Obama's toughness, something that Hillary also questioned aggressively during the primary.

"He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort," Bill said. "But in a world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by other threats to our security, our interests, and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries into partners, he will stand up to them."

At a time when some Democrats are still struggling to come to terms emotionally with Obama's defeat of Hillary, Bill also conferred the emotional power of his 1992 victory and presidency on Obama's candidacy by using one word: "Hope." It's a word that of course evokes Bill's famous "still believe in a place called hope" line and links it directly to Obama's "politics of hope."

Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Senator Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

It's hard to imagine a better one-two punch for Obama than Hillary yesterday and Bill today. This presidential race is dramatically different than it was a mere 24 hours ago.


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Obama need to send Bill to all the rural areas. We can win this election.

There were no rural areas to go to in Vietnam for 5 years when McCain was tortu- ... nevermind

Thanks for the chuckle! :-)

I agree, he won those areas for Hillary and he can defintiely do it for Obama. That speech was so great.

Video: Keith Vs. Chris Another Awkward MSNBC Moment

Greg, you should really do a post on Kerry's speech.

Ditto. And I want video of it asap, I missed the beginning.

Chop-chop.

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tired! come on! and biden coming, too!

Psssh! ;)

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Umm...the boss says he wants it posted. Sorry.

John McCain did get to be tired when he was a POW.

I meant to say John McCain didn't get to be tired.

Sorry about the typo, but actually it's kind of liberating. The North Vietnamese didn't let me make typos.

Good recovery....

..agreed, Kerry was brilliant.

Agreed. I'm sorry for those people who missed. It said alot that needed to be said: Rovian politics, swiftboating, McCain flip-flopping, personal attacks, etc. Finally....someone who was really pissed off about everything that's been going on!

Thanks JFKerry!

They should create a "15 Minute John Kerry Kerry Swiftboating Debriefing" everyday where he just savages McCain and the GOP in the same strong language for the next 10 weeks. Post em up, e-mail em around.

Anti-Swiftboating is key.

ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH, i forgot i was on TIVO delay, and switched channels after bill on CSPAN to see what the talking douches had to say about bill ... and then realized that i wiped out the cache on my TIVO and lost all of kerry's speech.

anyone got a link to a vid or the prepared remarks?


ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!!

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O god yes - he said the one thing I needed desperately to hear: The United States of America does not torture people - not ever.

Please.

Full-throated? I thought we went over this...

LOL!

Josh gives Kerry props on the front page.

Kerry kicked butt. Hopefully more of same from Biden.

A powerful trifecta so far today:

Bill
John Kerry (I don't think many saw this; he was genuinely good)
Dukakis's informal interview with, yes, Katie Couric , in which he apologizes to the country for having stuck us with "the kid"

why didn't the MSM show Kerry's speech? He was awesome!!! He really took it to McCain the candidate and McCain the Senator. I was able to see it on C-Span. If you guys can, you should check it out.

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because the corporate media sux.

it's because a) they don't want to be seen as doing the bidding of the party and b)they pay these political commenters so much, and spend so much to get them to denver and to stage a show, that they're going to use them and get their money's worth.

What a shame the networks are not showing this. The recognition of Obama's Uncle while Michelle was holding his hand was wonderful.

I'm liking this Rear Admiral...is this the first mention of torture that we've heard at this convention?

Kerry mentioned it too.

The guy from Alabama mentioned it during his nomination speech of Obama.

Agreed that Kerry was good. I hope that Biden hits many of the same notes.

Can anyone explain what Josh means about Tom Brokaw on the front page?

Someone (I forgot who) asked Tom what he thought about Bill praising McCain's service. Tom then began to explain about how Dems can't attack McCain because he's an American hero.

There may be more, but my eyes started rolling into the back of my head and I realized that Kerry was in the background speaking...so I changed it back to the Dish network live feed.

I know; I'm so sick of this "McCain The Untouchable" meme.

If he's so damn beyond reproach, let's elect him Saint, not President.

Brokaw just provided the MSM mentality behind McCain: Can't attack McCain. Wouldn't be prudent.

As long as Republicans are war-heroes, we must mention their names in an awed hush. Kerry, though? Hey, his service was QUESTIONABLE.

This is why the way Bill framed it was perfect, because the media morons will actually let the argument stand. He's an honorable man, he's an American hero, but on the 2 questions that matter, he embraces the radical fringe ideology of his party. It'll work.

It sinks in with people who don't pay as much attention as we do. That's what Bill does so well.

It's hard to imagine a better one-two punch for Obama than Hillary yesterday and Bill today. This presidential race is dramatically different than it was a mere 24 hours ago.

John Kerry just delivered the k.o. Unfortunately, the asshats thought their blathering was of much more importance, or interest, than anything anyone as insignficant as John Kerry might have to say.

Eventually, someone at CNN apparently was finally able to hear the crowd over Blitzer's droning, realized something was going on and put on part of it, but, Jesus H. Christ, what is it with these people? They really do think the random banalities pouring out of their mouths are immeasurably more important than anything actually being said by the speakers at this convention.

But anyway, Kerry lit McPow's sorry ass up and said what's been in the hearts of millions of Democrats for months now. I hope someone gets to actually hear it on Youtube or something.

WTF? Where'd my goddam blockquote tags go?

Goddammit. I was on MSNBC and missed it, too. This coverage really is beyond ridiculous but I have such an assailable desire to check in on the conventional wisdom (plus Maddow is so incredibly awesome). How do you talk over the last nominee of the party? Post a link if you find it and I'll do the same -- I'm sure it'll be on youtube in a few minutes.

That's unassailable. If it were assailable i'd be on cspan.

You were watching CNN? Was Carville still wearing his PUMAs?

"McPow"

Aw man, that is GENIUS! :)

I can't say it enough -- there was so much in that speech that it's hard to pick everything out, but I think we're all missing that he laid out PERFECTLY how to attack McCain on the "2 great questions of our time" thing.

What I've learned from watching the C-span stream tonight: the speakers are genuinely going after McCain and the Repubs. If CNN were not too busy shoving microphones in the faces of every deranged fool they can find, I would have known this much sooner.

Just heard Bill Richardson will not be speaking. Maybe he ran into the Big Dog in the green room and things got nasty.

Weird, he was up, but they just skipped over him. I wonder what happened.

They said they re-arranged the order. I wonder if Richardson gave his time to Clinton as it was said Clinton only had eight minutes and talked for almost 20.

Hm...I think I saw a shot of Bob Graham in the audience during Chet's speech.

We're hittin' hard tonight ... glad CNN deigned to show Kerry ... I'm liking it all today.

With just a few brilliant rhetorical brush-strokes he reminded all of us of what hangs in the balance - and why this election is not only a rejection of Rovian campaigns, Bush policies and McCain war-mongering, but more broadly a rejection of this perverse conservative ideology poisoning our country. With that folksy charm and aw-chucks smile, he took us back to 1992, when a president Bush had ruined the economy and a young Democrat promising change was branded too young and callow to lead by the GOP.

Simply, Awesome.

http://pufferfish.typepad.com/

I can't believe that MSNBC is not showing this film on the military....and instead feels it's more important to get Harold Ford Jr.'s views on ANYTHING!

That film was fabulous. I want a copy of it. I found a little article about it, but nothing else. I'd love to send a copy of it to my nephew, who served both in Kuwait and Iraq.

Then why are you watching it ? Switch to C-span or nbc live stream.

Has anyone noticed how that whenever someone's on the podium who's really tearing into ass of the MSM's BFF John McCain, they cut away to the Talking Hairdos so they can drone sonorously on and on and on and on about the Many, Many Problems Faced by Barack Obama? Hmmmm. How about that? What a coincidence.

John Kerry? Wolf Blitzer's stupidity was more important than John Kerry? Are you fucking kidding me?

And what to you think the odds are that they'll suddenly take heed of all our criticism of their unending asshattery just in time to cover every delicious slur, smear and lie uttered about Barack Obama during the Republican Convention?

Yep. We shouldn't be suprised. They have a vested interest in who wins this election, and it ain't our guy. On the FCC, media consolidation, corporate tax breaks, and even capital gains, we're their worst nightmare.

Aha. Now I know why people are watching MSNBC instead of PBS. They have Maddow crushes.

I admit that Mark Shields doesn't match Maddow. But PBS coverage is otherwise quite good.

I know. I already proposed her twice...

Speaking of media jackasses, who is this Mike Murphy jerkoff on MSNBC? I feel like he's about to try to sell me a timeshare in Fort Lauderdale.

I have a newfound respect for Tweety.

Why? I was watching the live feed....

Mike Murphy was complaining that the Denver crowd was biased. Tweety then said "In what part of America would a sane crowd agree with what you are saying?"

Because he insisted the Clintons were going to vote for McCain. Fucktard.

Matthews has gotten off a few good lines on him. He asked him earlier and made him answer the question "honestly, grade the last 8 years. give them a letter grade." Murphy finally answered "C." Olbermann and Matthews both started dying laughing.

Ha! Sometimes he just can't help himself.

He's McCain's BFF. I think he ran his campaign back in 2000. There were rumors not long ago that he was going to join up with him again, but apparently he decided to take the gig at MSNBC instead.

He's repulsive. Just physically and morally repulsive.

He's McCain's old campaign adviser from 2000 who said that McCain was going too negative and risked destroying his "brand". He also writes for Time now.

So far, I don't have a real problem with him. He's partisan, but not a bomb-thrower and seems to have a shred of ideological decency and integrity. But I'm watching the live c-span stream online right now, so I'm not sure what he's doing right now.

Richardson has been bumped until tomorrow. I think Clinton and Kerry both went long.

It makes sense to modulate the rhythms a bit. The stream of veterans on in the interim have been solid, I think. Bill followed by Kerry: two hard punches in a row. It's probably good to have a bit of relative calm before Biden.

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Harold Ford's just as bad. Bring back the Maddow/Buchanan act.

Yeah.

Call me crazy, but I think that Maddow and Buchanan sparring in front of a live crowd works.

Two very different people, to say the least.

You're right. I think he's probably my least favorite Democrat. I think it just comes down to the fact that he's just not that bright.

Rachel Maddow makes up for all of it for me, though.

Any links for full Bill Clinton speech?

Mmmmmm... Tasty Red Meat... Mmmmmm...

What do you call a dozen MSM talking heads chained together at the bottom of the ocean?

An illegal toxic waste dump.

Putrid, rotting carcassses ?

I agree that PBS is the place to watch the convention - much less hyperbole and spin than the networks. They are the only coverage team so far to actually make a big deal about what a historic step the nomination of a black man for the presidency for the first time is.

They showed Kerry's speech in its entirety and it was great - it's about time someone pointed out how dangerous McCain is.

If you are looking for the most photogenic team on TV though, you will be disappointed.

Even Brooks has been cowed - maybe he hearts the Clintons...dunno - but he's not being quite such a douchebag.

Anyone want to wager $20 that during the Republican convention, MSM will show whatever speech Giuliani delivers through the inevitable foamy saliva accreting on his lips?

I mention this as a contrast to just ignoring John Kerry's speech -- the man who was, in fact, the Democratic nominee of 2004.

Memo to MSNBC: you can't call it "coverage" if you don't COVER the f--king thing.

It really is a damn shame for the people who have to see this convention through a filter that's manned by producers and directors at cable news stations.

If you were watching MSNBC for example, rather than see this great video tribute to the military put together by Steven Spielberg, you got to see Mike Murphy flapping his gums about the Clintons. You also missed the nice intro from Chet Edwards where he made note of McCains' lackluster Veterans' voting record and the post-video speech on right now with wounded vet Tammy Duckworth.

If this is how people have to see the convention, based on what MSNBC says they should and should not see, then no wonder people think it sucks. Thankfully I'm watching C-SPAN due to the many tips from TPMers.

Plus you can watch online and keep your focus on a single screen :)

The film was great. I didn't realize that it was Spielberg. I guess that explains Tom Hanks' appearance.

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I disagree about PBS cause I'm on C-Span, and it's heaven. All it is is the convention and it's phenomenal - it's actually worth watching. I'm not kidding- dump all commentary - NOW!

Unfortunately, their sound quality is like their microphones are made of a Dixie cup connected to a string.

If you have it, I say turn to PBS or CSPAN. Kerry was on fire and in HD.

As a side note...the music has kind of sucked...Rocky? Eye of the Tiger? Everytime the house band plays I feel like I'm watching the Oscars.

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It was superb, far exceeding any possible expectations. I've been reading the "one-two punch" line all over the internet, and that's certainly what the Clintons delivered. I'm so grateful!

You know, we should really thank all those ratings-hungry (or Obama/Democrat-hating, as the case may be - take that Joe Scarborough!) pundits who manufactured all the Obama/Clinton rift stories - I'm sure they inadvertently drove up the viewership of the convention!

ARE YOU GODDAMN KIDDING ME?

Tammy Duckworth, Iraq War veteran and forceful advocate for the troops, is less important than, wait for it . . .


the BREAKING NEWS that JOHN McCAIN MAY HAVE MADE UP HIS MIND ABOUT HIS VP!!!!!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!! BIGGEST STORY EVAH!!!!!! YAAAAYYYY JOHN!!!!!! no we still have absolutely no idea who it may be. DOESN'T MATTER!!!!! YAY JOHN McCAIN!!!!!!!!! LET US ENDLESSLY REEXAMINE THE SHORT LIST AND FILL THE AIR WITH MORE ANTI-NEWS WHILE THE DEMOCRATS TRY TO MAKE THEIR CASE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!!!!

Jesus. They're like my cats chasing the red dot of a laser pointer around the house. Flash it and they lose all interest on whatever they were doing.

I take that back. My cats are much smarter than they are.

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Formerly Known as NCSteve - change the fucking channel - NOW. RIGHT NOW - go to C-Span.

Right now!

I was already there. I just switch back occaisionally to check out how the rest of America is experiencing it and in never fails to be worse than I expectged.

I love John Kerry. Was for him in the summer of 2003; I knew Dean would wash out. I think he got a serious bum rap for a campaign he had to run against a very tough electoral headwind. I never got on the netroots blame train running him out of town over the last four years. And he gave a fine speech tonight.

But if you think it came anywhere close in importance in improving to Barack Obama's chances of getting elected president to that of Mr. Bubba, you've gone Planter's Roasted-n-Salted Peanuts, my friends. That goes for JMM too.

The Bubba speech was epochal and should be studied as an example of a speech that perfectly achieves the oratorical function it set out for. He is the master.

Hillary Clinton spoke to 18 million grieving suppoters, Kerry spoke to a hopeful political party; Bill Clinton spoke to the broad American people he led for eight years.

Now it's Joe Biden's turn.

One good thing they just caught -- Obama's making a cameo. They just showed him in a car speeding into Denver.

I love John Kerry. Was for him in the summer of 2003; I knew Dean would wash out. I think he got a serious bum rap for a campaign he had to run against a very tough electoral headwind. I never got on the netroots blame train running him out of town over the last four years. And he gave a fine speech tonight.

But if you think it came anywhere close in importance in improving to Barack Obama's chances of getting elected president to that of Mr. Bubba, you've gone Planter's Roasted-n-Salted Peanuts, my friends. That goes for JMM too.

The Bubba speech was epochal and should be studied as an example of a speech that perfectly achieves the oratorical function it set out for. He is the master.

Hillary Clinton spoke to 18 million grieving suppoters, Kerry spoke to a hopeful political party; Bill Clinton spoke to the broad American people he led for eight years.

Now it's Joe Biden's turn.

Well I guess we'll never know, given that nobody except a handful of CSPN-watching, arugula eating elitists got to hear Kerry's speech.

Anybody heard any repug comments... Wonder what's going on in their war room.


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Lots of fear and loathing.

Great... the more the better ... jerks

bill clinton exceeded my expectations....now the rest is up to obama tomorrow...tying himself to obama cannot be construed or spunned negatively...i think obama need to embrace the clinton years and do it quickly...we may have all disagreed with the clintons' tactics when they realized they were losing, but the majority of us are in agreement that the clinton years were properous in comparison to the mess we have now...obama has just been handed a boon....

i want to see both clintons on the trail campaigning their hearts out for obama....and it doesn't stop there--i have always said that obama is my candidate and he is great, but everything old and seasoned is not bad...the clintons are a great asset and obama needs to pick bill c's brain on how to fix this mess of an economy and how to win this election once and for all...

let clinton's loose on mccain and please no more scripts for biden...allow him to belt out shadiness of mccain, so long as its factual....

kerry found his voice and man if the kerry of today was the kerry of years ago, he would have won i think..

I could listen to him talk all night. Here are some MP3 highlights.

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