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Clinton delivers a tour de force
Clinton delivers a tour de force
By Steve Benen
<...>
What made Clinton's speech so exceptional? First, for all the assumptions that the public will not tolerate and has no appetite for substance, Clinton proved the cynics wrong -- his remarks were incredibly policy focused, not only in heralding Obama's underappreciated achievements, but also in taking the GOP vision apart, one issue at a time. The former president is in a league of his own when it comes to making wonky details accessible and easy to understand.
Whereas Republicans treated voters like children last week, building whole days around out-of-context quotes and shallow platitudes, Clinton spoke to Americans like adults, respecting us enough to assume we'd understand. It was a triumph for facts and reason...he summarized the entire Republican message in a devastating soundbite: "We left him a total mess. He hasn't cleaned it up fast enough. So fire him and put us back in."
Third, I was struck by Clinton's ability to excite the Democratic base with a bipartisan message. He reminded the audience about the virtues of "compromise," about Obama's commitment to "constructive cooperation," and even had the convention goers cheering one of George W. Bush's more admirable successes (PEPFAR). Indeed, Clinton had more positive things to say about Bush than Republicans did.
<...>
As became obvious as Clinton's speech soared, there is no one in the Republican Party who can compete at this level, and it's only going to get worse for the challengers -- Clinton dazzled last night, but Americans will also see him in campaign ads and on the campaign trail. Bush and Cheney are hiding, but the Obama campaign will deliberately keep Clinton in the spotlight.
- more -
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/06/13702242-clinton-delivers-a-tour-de-force
By Steve Benen
<...>
What made Clinton's speech so exceptional? First, for all the assumptions that the public will not tolerate and has no appetite for substance, Clinton proved the cynics wrong -- his remarks were incredibly policy focused, not only in heralding Obama's underappreciated achievements, but also in taking the GOP vision apart, one issue at a time. The former president is in a league of his own when it comes to making wonky details accessible and easy to understand.
Whereas Republicans treated voters like children last week, building whole days around out-of-context quotes and shallow platitudes, Clinton spoke to Americans like adults, respecting us enough to assume we'd understand. It was a triumph for facts and reason...he summarized the entire Republican message in a devastating soundbite: "We left him a total mess. He hasn't cleaned it up fast enough. So fire him and put us back in."
Third, I was struck by Clinton's ability to excite the Democratic base with a bipartisan message. He reminded the audience about the virtues of "compromise," about Obama's commitment to "constructive cooperation," and even had the convention goers cheering one of George W. Bush's more admirable successes (PEPFAR). Indeed, Clinton had more positive things to say about Bush than Republicans did.
<...>
As became obvious as Clinton's speech soared, there is no one in the Republican Party who can compete at this level, and it's only going to get worse for the challengers -- Clinton dazzled last night, but Americans will also see him in campaign ads and on the campaign trail. Bush and Cheney are hiding, but the Obama campaign will deliberately keep Clinton in the spotlight.
- more -
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/06/13702242-clinton-delivers-a-tour-de-force
1 replies
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