Jason Zengerle wonders if "those voters who think that Hillary has no prayer of winning a general election and be inclined not to vote for her in the primaries" will "still feel so pragmatic and rational after watching Bill introduce his wife at campaign events?"
Who knows. I can tell you that Clinton's speeches can warp reality. We all remember the DNC convention, where he made John Kerry sound better than he had ever looked. I was there, and the repetition of "Send Me" sent shivers up my spine -- Kerry really did have the raw material for inspiration, it was Clinton's gift to be so skilled at molding it.
But I also saw Clinton introduce Gray Davis at a 2002 rally. Davis was a slimeball who'd just polished off a grotesquely negative campaign. The room was relieved that we'd won but slightly revolted by who's banner we'd triumphed under. Then Clinton stepped up and, for 20 extraordinary minutes, wrapped Davis in a shimmering coat of ideals, dreams, hopes, and promise. I fell in love with the man. Until, that is, he began speaking. But my esteem for Clinton as an introducer was set, and I'll never underestimate the power of his speeches. Hillary is a far easier and more inspiring subject than Davis and Bill, by all reports, actually loves her. By the time he finishes, she'll be an incandescent goddess, watched by a crowd wearing those solar eclipse sunglasses, as Bill will have convinced them she's too luminescent to view with the human eye.
