Sen. Hillary Clinton gave an excellent speech tonight that should dispel all the pundits who have been saying she is only in this for herself.
She really nailed why John McCain must be defeated: "Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance."
On a night when we celebrate women gaining the right to vote, Sen. Clinton spelled out in no uncertain terms what is at stake for women in this election.
Chris Matthews asked Brian Williams if Obama must now take up the feminist cause of equality of opportunity for women. Williams responded:
"I don't think there's any way that he can avoid it. I think he must. Too many people came to the polls armed with hammers to break that glass ceiling ... [Clinton's] candidacy meant too much to too many people, especially American woman to let that go ... it's too important a subtext. A question I posed to Tom [Brokaw], Chuck [Todd], and Peggy Noonan, if not Hillary Clinton then who? If not now, when? It's been a generation since Geraldine Ferraro ... when you look at the percentage of the population, and look at the year we're having here, I think that is the part of the Barack Obama speech that had better be very, very well crafted for a mass audience."
Women are 60% of the Democratic party, and the party platform is much more woman-friendly than it's been in years -- even adding back in the platform support for the Equal Rights Amendment.
The bar has now been set for Sen. Joe Biden tomorrow, and Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday and beyond.
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6 comments:
Amazing and outstanding in every possible way!
And you must know I was really thinking about you specifically as I watched.
She was beyond the beyond- this was her moment and she handled it with amazing power and integrity.
Sen. Hillary Clinton gave an excellent speech tonight that should dispel all the pundits who have been saying she is only in this for herself.
Yet the pundits are still asking, "Yeah, but was she sincere?"
Sigh ....
If her campaign had been more tightly disciplined and not let it leak out that yes, she does intend to run again in 2012, then pundits would not be so quick to question her sincerity.
She has a ways to go before she can charm the cynical media.
And if she runs again in four years, she must be a strong enough force within her own campaign that it succeeds instead of implodes as it did this year.
She plans to run again in 2012? Those damn bitchy women and their "ambition."
Hillary Clinton did everything she needed to do -- and more -- in that speech. It's all up to Obama now. If he's half the president he claims he'll be, he's got nothing to worry about in 2012.
It was a great speech and really moving. My personal favorite part was when she invoked Harriet Tubman "keep going!"
The only criticism I would level is the same criticism towards everybody speaking so far at the convention- attack McCain more.
Because you know the convention next week is going to be one long negative ad against Obama.
Also- I think the "sleeper" speech of this convention will be Bill's speech tonight. His administration's record has taken a lot of crap these past 8 years and I think he may be the one to give me the red meat anti-republicanism I'm craving.
Fran - you are the best!
SueJ - Ugh ... I know ...
Comrade - the pundits don't need an excuse to go after Clinton. Even when they don't have one, they make one up!
Dean Wormer - I loved the Tubman section, too! And I agree that Bill's speech may be the sleeper event. I hope he does deliver the "red meat" ... someone needs to.
BAC
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