Hillary Clinton speaks at the Democratic National Convention and urges followers to unite behind Obama (Photo by David L. Roberts; AFRO Staff)
By Sean Yoes
AFRO Staff
DENVER (August 27, 2008) – It seemed like the weight of the entire Democratic Party was on the shoulders of Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday night. There had been a lot of talk about party disunity in the days leading up to the convention and many Democrats were looking to her to help bring the party together and were hoping her words would be the salve that would promote healing.
But, from the opening salvo of the most important speech of her trailblazing political career she made it clear to the crowd at the Pepsi Center in Denver that she was up to the task. “I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama,” Clinton said sparking what would be one of dozens of euphoric eruptions.
Most were still in a frenzy after witnessing a video montage of images from Clinton’s storied life. Despite their adulation her orders were clear—even to the most hardcore Clinton supporter—it was time to get in line behind Barack Obama and go to war against John McCain. "My friends, it is time to take back the country we love. Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” she said. “We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future. And it’s a fight we must win,” Clinton added. "No way. No how. No McCain.”
Even veteran Democratic warriors were visibly moved an inspired by Clinton’s tour de force performance. “She did what she was supposed to do in the way that she was supposed to do it.” “I think that she exceeded the expectations that a lot of people had,” former Maryland Congressman and former CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Kweisi Mfume said in an interview with the Afro just moments after Clinton’s speech. “It was delivered with passion, it was not contrived, you can tell that she’s gotten beyond the hurt of this loss.” Mfume made his comments as he exited the Pepsi Center along with thousands of other energized Democrats.
He continued, “You can tell also that she clearly wants to send a message that if we don’t unite as a party now it’s not going to happen. I think more than anything else her message of support for Sen. Obama was clear tonight. Now, I don’t know how the right wing will spin this—but, I think you can only spin it one way—and that is to say that she did what she was supposed to do in the way that she was supposed to do it.”
Indeed, Clinton stated her support for Obama unequivocally – mentioning Obama by name more than 10 times – and urged all of her supporters to do the same. “Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president,” Clinton said.
Although former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner technically delivered the keynote address of the evening, it was Clinton’s speech that everybody was waiting for. What she would say and how she would say it was the source of much speculation and hand wringing within the Democratic Party, a party some believed was deeply divided.
“I think this whole situation has been overplayed,” New York Gov. David Patterson told the Afro hours prior to Clinton’s speech alluding to the alleged rift between the Clinton and Obama camps. “But, I think what Hillary Clinton has to do tonight is to physically and orally demonstrate her support for Barack Obama.”
The vast majority in attendance at the Pepsi Center believe that mission was accomplished. Not only did Clinton say she supports Obama, she outlined why the country should support him, too. “When Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time,” Clinton said as she provided more insight into an Obama presidency while giving a nod to someone she knows well.
“Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again,” she said. “He’ll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He’ll make sure that the middle class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can’t wait to watch Barack Obama sign a health care plan into law that covers every single American.”
Clinton’s other major task was to clearly make the case against John McCain and the Republicans and most agree that she landed several brutal blows against the Arizona Senator. “Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend,” Clinton began. “He has served our country with honor and courage. But, we don’t need four more years…of the last eight years,” she declared as the crowd exploded with a roar of laughter and cheers. Clinton didn’t stop there as she linked McCain to President George Bush.
“John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn’t think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008 he still thinks it’s okay when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work,” she said. “With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.”
After Clinton’s speech, one of her staunchest supporters, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz, was effusive. “It was incredible,” she said. “It was awesome—she did everything that she had to do.” By the end of the speech most believe Clinton had provided the cathartic moment that she and so many of her supporters had talked about.
But, at the end she invoked the memory and the deeds of another American woman patriot. “By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. And on that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice,” Clinton said. “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they’re shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
Her words—backed by a historic campaign that garnered 18 million votes and a legion of diehard supporters—had the power to heal the party or possibly tear it asunder. Click Here to see Hillary Clinton's Speech
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