Bill Clinton: A Magical Force at the DNC

Bill Clinton killed it last night… The stage presence, the timing, the ability to ad lib, the sense that he was speaking from both the head and heart… What a gift! In an amazing and passionate 48-minute speech, Bill Clinton drove a rhetorical truck through the biggest opening that Romney and the Republicans created last week for Democrats. The G.O.P. convention claimed to be bracingly honest with the public and make difficult calls and choices, but of course, all Republican speakers discussed policy in the broadest and loosest terms, with no detail and creative generalizations! Bill Clinton did everything that the Republicans did not do; he dove deep into important policy detail. He addressed important issues ranging from Medicaid to welfare to prescription drugs to student loans. Most importantly, Clinton defined the Republicans, negatively of course, on issues that they refused to define themselves. Clinton persuaded the public with actual fact, not a hundred vague promises to “make hard choices” and “level with the American people”. He sympathized with public anger and frustration, but claimed that Obama has “laid the foundations for… shared prosperity.” “If you want a you’re-on-your-own, winner-take-all society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility – a we’re-all-in-this-together society – you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden,” former president said last night! Put simply, the former President was a magical force yesterday, saving the night and possibly – hopefully – the election!