Bringing in the Big Leaguers

A Big Leaguer. Michelle Obama was a highly effective amateur, but Monday night was basically amateur night at the Democratic Convention. Last night, the Democrats brought in the big leaguers for the prime time television slots. Former Virginia governor Mark Warner gave an outstanding keynote address that focused on broad opportunity and creativity as competitive advantages for the United States. I have to admit that I've always been suspicious of Warner because of his reputation as a "moderate," and "non-partisan," which usually means "agree with the Republicans," Democrat. But Warner's speech was much more of an Al Gore vision of the tremendous opportunity that can be created as the U. S. addresses energy and environmental issues. Warner had a lot of ideas and he delivered the speech with fire and enthusiasm even if one could still see a little of the geek behind the heavy hitter. Unlike the Republicans, the Democrats have a deep bench of credible "presidential" figures behind Barack Obama. Mark Warner is one of them.

Hillary in Her Own League. If Mark Warner's speech was outstanding, Hillary Clinton's was even better. Before getting into what Hillary Clinton said, I thought that her commanding presence on the podium was a strong testament to her leadership ability and the leadership ability of all women. Much of what Hillary Clinton established with her presidential campaign is that women could be more than plausible as candidates for president of the United States. And Hillary continues to represent herself as "presidential timber" even in defeat.

I may be biased because I supported Hillary Clinton up through the Kentucky primary in May, but I agree with everyone who sees her speech as a monster home run. What Hillary needed to do most was to urge her most disappointed supporters to get behind Obama. That hasn't been a problem for me. I've always thought well of Obama despite the fact that I liked Hillary better and Obama outhustled and outfought Hillary during the primaries. He deserved to win. But a large number of Hillary supporters are still doubtful and Hillary directly challenged them directly by asking if they really believed in the issues that Hillary was fighting for. It was the best way for Hillary to appeal to disappointed supporters. Hillary Clinton's views on health care, education, foreign affairs, and veterans are almost exactly the same as Obama's. The best way for her to talk to her supporters was to emphasize what she and Obama shared in this way.

At the end of Hillary's speech, she referred to the first women's rights meeting in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 and made an extended reference to underground railroad heroine Harriet Tubman and her urging women to "keep going, keep going, keep going." I thought that was an inspired way to bring together the traditions of women and African-Americans striving for opportunity and equality in the United States.

I was inspired by it anyway.

One of the questions tonight is whether Joe Biden is in the same league as Hillary Clinton. I suspect that Biden will do well even if he's not quite at Hillary's level.

Last night, Hillary was in a league with few peers and her husband is not one of them.

Fortunately, Barack Obama is.