Even for those of us who think we know Hillary Clinton, there were fascinating new things to learn about her during a glorious and joy-filled Day 2 of the DNC in Philly.
We knew that Hillary fought for children's and women's rights since she was a student, that she brought good jobs to rural and urban New York as Senator, that she had been a champion of police and fire officers after 9/11, that as Secretary of State, she had forged a global alliance to force Iran to make a deal on nuclear weapons, brokered a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But we just didn't know the sheer extent of it all!
Speaker after speaker testified tonight to what Meryl Streep called Hillary's "grit and grace" in making good things happen for those who are forgotten, downtrodden, grieving or in need of help. They included Joe Sweeney, an NYPD detective working on 9/11 , parents of disabled children, political veterans like Howard Dean, candidate for President in 2004, and Congressman Joe Crowley..
Madeline Albright, the first woman Secretary of State, was on hand to praise Hillary and pour contempt on Trump. "Donald Trump has a strange admiration for dictators", she said. "Hillary knows that safeguarding freedom and security is not like hosting a reality TV show."
Many politicians are accused of not walking the talk, but Hillary may be the only politician guilty of not "talking the walk", of not touting her accomplishments in a colorful way, which may explain the distorted views some voters have of a person who has done so much for America.
Bill Clinton, in a beautiful speech, went a long way in correcting the record. He spoke movingly about "the girl he met and fell in love with" in the spring of 1971 and intorduced a credible explanation for the gap in perceptions about Hillary. "She's the best darn change-maker I've ever met in my entire life....but, a real change-maker represents a real threat" to special interests, he explained, " and so your only option is to create a cartoon, a cartoon alternative and then run against the cartoon.".
"What's the difference in what I told you about Hillary and what the Republicans said last week"?, the former President asked. "One is real, the other is made up. You nominated the real one!" he said to sustained cheers from the hall (which was packed, with people sitting on the steps and in the aisles).
The genius of Bill Clinton's speech was that he humanized and feminized Hillary by highlighting her passion for hard work on hard problems, and how she successfully balances what so many other women do every day, juggling the roles of mother, wife and career. He reminisced about walking, talking and laughing with Hillary, "We've done it in good times and bad, through joy and heartbreak." Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, who normally displays good judgment, thought this opening part of the speech was "shocking and rude". Sadly, she missed the importance of educating Americans about the human and loving values of the Democratic candidate.
Nicholas Thompson of the New Yorker tweeted, "Bill Clinton just showed intelligence, vulnerability, respect, and, yes, love."
Our colleague, Deborah Sale put it this way, "When Bill Clinton says "You"", every person in the hall believes he's talking directly to him or her. He credibly told the personal story of their shared lives and the values they share."
"There are clear achievable affordable responses to our challenges", Bill concluded. "But we won't get them if America makes the wrong choice in this election. Hillary will never quit when the going gets tough. She will never quit on you,"
Making History, as Bernie Proposes First Woman Nominee
Earlier in the evening, Hillary secured the 2,383 delegates needed to win the Democratic party's nomination. Bernie Sanders, in a generous gesture, appeared on the convention floor and asked for Hillary to be nominated unanimously.
"I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic party for President of the United States," Bernie said. With the motion seconded, a loud roar of aye's arose to the greatest cheers of the week.
At the end of the night Alicia Keys sang Superwoman and urged the Bernie supporters to join the Hillary campaign.
The words she sang echoed what many had been saying so movingly all night:
"For all the mothers fighting
For better days to come
And for all my women, all my women sitting her trying
To come home before the sun
And all my sisters
Coming together
Say yes I will
Yes I can
For the finale, Hillary appeared on a large video screen live from New York. "What an incredible honor you have given me," she said as the crowd went wild, "I can't believe we've just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet."
And to the little girls out there, she said, " I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next."
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July 26, 2016
