Bill grits his teeth and says Obama is ready to lead
James Forsyth 3:23am
Before Bill Clinton came on the convention cheered repeatedly for him. One sensed that the crowd were trying to make him feel loved and calm him down. Clinton did what he was meant to do: declare Obama ready to lead. But the speech was far from vintage Clinton and the effusive, sincere praise he heaped on Joe Biden—“I love Joe Biden”—did contrast with his rather correct praise for Obama. When the hall broke into a chant of “yes we can”, Bill looked pained as he briefly backed away from the lectern.
Perhaps, the most effective part of the speech, from an Obama perspective, came when Clinton compared the criticisms that were made about his readiness to be commander in chief in1992 to those being made of Obama now. But this part of the speech was too brief and the emphasis he placed on the role that Biden would play in national security decision making ran the risk of undermining Obama. Interestingly, Clinton was introduced by a black Congressman from Florida, presumably part of the attempt to rehabilitate him with African-American voters.
Verity
August 28th, 2008 11:17pm Report this comment"Interestingly, Clinton was introduced by a black Congressman from Florida, presumably part of the attempt to rehabilitate him with African-American voters."
Interesting, my question is: Why? He has been president for two terms, and before that he served two full terms as the Goveror of Arkansas ... remind me again, why does he "need" to be "rehabilitated" with Afro-American voters?
And let us remember that he was known as "America's first black president".
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