Hillary Clinton Speaks at the Democratic National Convention

In the nature of full disclosure, I should mention that I am an independent. I am not, and have never been a supporter of Hillary Clinton. Watching Hillary's speech at the DNC in Denver made me wonder why she was not selected as the Democrats' presidential candidate. Even with her and Bill's political baggage, it looks to me like the Democrats may have made the wrong choice. Obama definitely made the wrong decision for his vice presidential running mate.

Chelsea Clinton introduced her mother with a well produced video of Hillary's life and accomplishments. Hillary then gave a powerful speech that got the crowd excited. She incorporated all of her campaign points, and highlighted her accomplishments. Clinton focused on women's empowerment throughout the speech, as it was the 88th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Health care was another topic that was touched on throughout the speech. Hillary acknowledged Joe Biden, and even gave Bill Clinton's administration kudos for its successes during the 1990s, and stated that Democrats could have this success again. During the speech, she only made minimal reference to Barack Obama, but did call for unity amongst Democrats. She did state that she felt Obama would be a good choice for following up on her campaign promises. Early in the speech, the cameras panned to Michelle Obama. She looked somewhat perturbed with Clinton and the crowd's response to her. Clinton's endorsement was very much a political endorsement, as opposed to a personal endorsement.

Hillary Clinton did not attack John McCain. She said they are friends and colleagues, but pointed out that McCain is friends with Bush. She did introduce a new slogan, "No way, no how, no McCain!" The theme of the night was that McCain will bring four more years of the same for America. She poked holes in his energy policy and perceived distance from regular Americans. All in all, the speech was very positive and had no low blows. Again, it was a very impressive speech.

Clinton was a great orator on this night, and most likely left her supporters upset with the selection of Obama. If she would have given this speech during the primary, there is no doubt in my mind that she would be the next President of the United States of America. It will be difficult for Barack Obama to top Hillary's speech, but this is his strong suit. Obama's campaign may even be second guessing its vice presidential selection. Clinton would have delivered a tremendous number of voters to Obama, some of whom will undoubtedly vote for John McCain. The Obama-Clinton ticket would have been unstoppable.