He left little unsaid. For all the talk of Bill Clinton's anger, his resentment, his grudges, Clinton took the stage tonight and threw the full weight of his prestige behind Barack Obama. Leveraging that peculiar credibility that comes from being one of four living Americans to have held the presidency, he didn't simply give Obama his support, but his endorsement. He said that Obama was not only ready, but right. The Obama camp could have asked for nothing more. Clinton could have delivered little more. Well, maybe a little. It was striking that Bill Clinton never uttered the words "John McCain." Four years ago, that steady insistence on retaining the robes of the presidency, levitating an inch or two above the fray, made sense. It was Clinton choosing a particular, and honorable, path that forever defined him as an ex-president rather than an ex-candidate. But after heatedly involving himself in the Democratic primary, after often attacking Barack Obama by name, it seemed peculiar that he would hold that portion of himself in reserve. Four years ago, Clinton wasn't a campaigner. This year, he was. To shed that skin the day before the convention could be understood one of two ways. Either you can view it negatively. Or you can understand it as a smart political move. Clinton's speech may well have been more effective for being less partisan. By presenting himself as ex-president, his endorsement of Obama as ready and qualified and right might have meant more than if he had spoken as just one more of the Democratic primary's failed actors.And, lastly, no one can humanize policy like Clinton. The speech he offered could have been a joint release from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for American Policy foreign affairs department. But somehow, when Clinton reads it, policy slips free of the weighty terms and looping sentences that press it down, and drifts upward to read easily as part of the human condition, engaged with our everyday experience. It's a remarkable skill, and one that no other current politician possesses.Image used under a Creative Commons license from sskennel. THE EX-PRESIDENT.
He left little unsaid. For all the talk of Bill Clinton's anger, his resentment, his grudges, Clinton took the stage tonight and threw the full weight of his prestige behind Barack Obama. Leveraging that peculiar credibility that comes from being one of four living Americans to have held the presidency, he didn't simply give Obama his support, but his endorsement. He said that Obama was not only ready, but right. The Obama camp could have asked for nothing more. Clinton could have delivered little more. Well, maybe a little. It was striking that Bill Clinton never uttered the words "John McCain." Four years ago, that steady insistence on retaining the robes of the presidency, levitating an inch or two above the fray, made sense. It was Clinton choosing a particular, and honorable, path that forever defined him as an ex-president rather than an ex-candidate. But after heatedly involving himself in the Democratic primary, after often attacking Barack Obama by name, it seemed peculiar that he would hold that portion of himself in reserve. Four years ago, Clinton wasn't a campaigner. This year, he was. To shed that skin the day before the convention could be understood one of two ways. Either you can view it negatively. Or you can understand it as a smart political move. Clinton's speech may well have been more effective for being less partisan. By presenting himself as ex-president, his endorsement of Obama as ready and qualified and right might have meant more than if he had spoken as just one more of the Democratic primary's failed actors.And, lastly, no one can humanize policy like Clinton. The speech he offered could have been a joint release from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for American Policy foreign affairs department. But somehow, when Clinton reads it, policy slips free of the weighty terms and looping sentences that press it down, and drifts upward to read easily as part of the human condition, engaged with our everyday experience. It's a remarkable skill, and one that no other current politician possesses.Image used under a Creative Commons license from sskennel. 
