i'm pretty sure he used the words "john mccain" at least once.

Ditto. I also noticed that Clinton chose not to mention McCain by name but rather went with "Republican alternative," etc. Here's hoping Biden sticks it to McCain.

He crushed it.

The best line was surely "People around the world have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

That, in a nutshell, is what Obama absolutely gets, and what McCain and the neocon cheesedicks will never understand.

highlight of the convention goes to JOHN KERRY

John Kerry was great, but I only found his speech on C-Span.

Wow, John Kerry tore John McCain up.

I thought Kerry was excellent with the whole "Senator McCain vs. Candidate McCain" schtick. More of that, please.

I thought the speech was a little subpar for Bill. I liked 2004's better.

When he did start talking about McCain being a good man, I was hoping he'd go into the one character attack I think they definitely should be using: that McCain sold out whatever independence he had to get that nomination. It works as a character attack, it works as a policy attack, and it works because it's true. They kneecapped him in 2000, and now John McCain has become the man who will say anything to get elected.

Sounds like Kerry might have gone there....I'll have to check out the speech on youtube. But I think that's the attack they should be making.

He crushed it - i agree.

It is difficult for ex-presidents to be as explicitly partisan as we would like in situations where everyone is watching. In the primaries - it is just some dems. Now it is the whole country watching. So for him to go explicitly after people is below the office he held.

so he did something better than attacking individuals. He discredited the entire republican political philosophy one tenant at a time. He hit every part of republicanism hard, the economic failures, every thing. Read Kevin Drum as the start of this idea and Kev doesn't go far enough, but Clinton did three things: Endorsed Obama with the full weight of his persona, Went after the core of the republican governing philosophy, and promoted liberalism as a governing philosophy.

The attacks on people are better done by others in the dem party. But Bill shot republican governing philosophy in the head.

nice post, ezra.

He crushed it. He knocked it out of the park. Maybe he should have made more attacks on John McCain--and certainly, if he campaigns for the Dems, he will--but it was still a knockout. 2004 was great, too.

Haven't caught but a snippet of Kerry, but, frankly, he sounded a lot better this time around than he did at the convention where he was the nominee. Whacky!

Conservatives attack Democratic liberalism philosophically all the time--when not after a specific candidate, it's their (our) modus operandi. It makes every good sense to go after the core of Republican governing philosophy and try to discredit it, and over liberalism as the better alternative. I don't think Bill was correct in his discrediting of Republican governing philosophy, generally, but it seems to me that exactly how you draw a line in the sand, and tell the people on your side that you are with them.

Good think Bill is on Obama's side in this. I don't think he'd want Obama on the campaign trail trash-talking Obama all the way up to the general election. And, when he's on your side, he's clearly an asset. He is the consummate politician.

Four? I can only think of three: Clinton, Carter, and Bush I. Bush II is a soon-to-be ex-president, but it's wishful thinking to count him already.

But yeah, he did a tremendous job. And it was more important for him to make the case for Obama (which he did, admirably) than to make the case against McCain.

Bill did GOOD, and without sounding overtly partisan - which is just right for a former President.

My sense is that the disappointment of Hillary's loss is being submerged in the entireity of his lifelong committment to the Dem. party and progressive ideas. This is the Clinton of 1992 and 1996, and it the best, and authentic Clinton.

can ezra please address the fact that the following assertion is absolutely incorrect:

It was striking that Bill Clinton never uttered the words "John McCain."

sullivan is now linking to this statement, but the fact is that bill clinton did explicitly mention mccain by name, and did explicitly attack his policies. it seems to me that this fundamental fact should cause ezra to at least clarify his point about clinton taking a "statesmanlike" approach.

Excellent, thoughtful post.

President Bill Clinton is one in a million...there will never be another one like him...

it is far past the time that the left wakes up to the fact that Bill Clinton is one of the most powerful assets the Democratic Party has...

when will the left wake up and stop damaging their own Democratic brand...geesh!

...oh, probably in time for Obama to start campaigning on the successes of Bill's administration...the same ones Obama trashed in the primaries...oops!

Ezra, you're wrong.
McCain isn't mentioned in the "remarks as prepared for delivery", which you probably checked before writing this post, but he IS mentioned in the actual speech. (Bill is famous for editing his speeches last-minute.)
He said that while McCain should be commended for breaking with Republican orthodoxy in the past, on the two most important issues that this election is about, restoring the American Dream (the economy) and restoring our standing in the world (foreign policy) McCain has embraced the Republican mainstream, which is far right and extremist and dangerous for America. Pretty brutal attack, if you ask me.

At first glance it might seem Clinton is submerging his disappointment and resentment. But the speech was unconvincing as an endorsement of Obama. He uttered the name "Barack Obama" many times, as if well aware of the charges that he always talks about himself. But when he said Obama has intelligence and curiosity, qualities of a successful president, who was he talking about, I ask you? Those are the qualities widely ascribed to him. He called Obama's policies vastly superior to those of the opponent. That is not saying much. He said the campaign had strengthened Obama. That was a clever remark, implying as it did that those who at first believed he was too untested were right. If running a presidential campaign qualifies as preparatory strengthening experience then okay, he's got it, he seemed to be saying. Also, it's a question of whether you believe the Clinton of this speech, or the sum of his recent past behavior. If you want to believe that the convention produced in him a conversion, ala Saul on the road to Damascus, go ahead. Enjoy.

Obama has intelligence and curiosity, qualities of a successful president, who was he talking about, I ask you?

He was talking about Bush and McCain, two people who lack those qualities. (and in fact ran on the premise that a lack of those qualities was a point in their favor)

People don't seem to regard McCain as particularly stupid. The proposition that Obama's POLICIES are vastly superior to those of McCain was the second part of a thought expressed the day before, the famous "say you had two candidates, candidate A and B, and you agreed 100 percent with A, and only 50 percent with B.....etc" the point of which was that someone can have great ideas but be unable to effect them. That was always the charge the Clintons launched against Obama. But you want to exonerate the Clintons, as you habitually do, so go ahead. They are completely on board, yep.

Lately, panon, the Democratic "brand" has been the "party of the intelligent and curious," while the Republican "brand", which McCain has always tried to take up, is "not thinking to hard or getting into details and going with your gut." So Bill, in this statement, is just keeping with the general Democratic theme of promoting curious, intelligent candidates and, as was the case in 2004, saying, "when voters think, we win."

Oh right, he's promoting the "brand." (and why do we have to keep using that word from the business world?) Yes, he's on board. That's "the biggest fairy tale I ever heard. Give me a break."

It was striking that Bill Clinton never uttered the words "John McCain."

Things I learned from Chris Matthews: Never say the name of your opponent, it just reminds the voter of their own view of the person rather than the one you're trying to portray.

No clue if it's true and it doesn't make much sense to me, but, clinton and matthews both come from the same style of politics.

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