By Eleanor Clift
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Women of all ages had tears in their eyes as Hillary Clinton commanded the stage Tuesday evening at the Pepsi Center. This wasn't supposed to be her night. She had hoped to speak Thursday night to accept the nomination of her party. But whatever anger and disappointment she may feel was not visible. She did what she had to do, and then some, putting party and country ahead of her personal ambition. Maybe women identified with her deferred dreams, and her game face, perhaps more so than men; an informal poll taken by NEWSWEEK's reporters of convention-goers suggested that women rated Hillary's speech a triumph while men were unmoved, picking apart sections of the speech as "too wonky" and totally missing the masterful way Hillary spoke to women with her closing peroration on suffrage.
The evidence is mixed on whether Hillary succeeded in unifying the party. The Obama camp seemed pleased. Senator Obama called her after the speech and spoke to both Hillary and Bill. Joe Biden headed to Hillary's holding room to congratulate her. But the glow of the evening only emboldened some Hillary supporters to continue to carry her banner. At a morning meeting of the Tennessee delegation when a Hillary supporter stood up to say she would switch her vote to Obama in tonight's roll call, a verbal brawl broke out with other Hillary delegates declaring their allegiance to Clinton and assailing the turncoat. "She's lucky she has her arms attached to her body," Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen told NEWSWEEK.
Relations are smoother at the top with Clinton operative Craig Smith running Hillary's floor operation out of the Obama office with a whip team in place to make sure the true believers don't get out of hand. With President Clinton speaking tonight in prime time, the media spent much of the day parsing his past behavior, wondering how sincere he'll be in endorsing Obama, and speculating how the Obama team will use him over the next two months. If the Clintons are really committed to party unity, shouldn't we have seen a picture of the three of them together before now? "Have you seen a picture of the Clintons together?" a Clintonite responded, sarcastically touching on the widespread notion that Bill Clinton was a major factor in his wife losing the nomination.
Still, key players in both camps think Obama would be wise to tap into the former president's wisdom. "If I were Obama, I'd talk to him every night," said one Clintonite, if only to show respect and keep him on the reservation. The two men have talked periodically over the last few weeks and the Obama campaign said they expect to dispatch Bill Clinton to the battleground states to campaign for the ticket, something he did not do in any significant way for either Al Gore or John Kerry. As for the personal relationship, says a former Clintonite with ties to both camps, "There can't be a matchmaker. Either it will happen or it won't." Knowing how Clinton hates to be on the sidelines, the betting is on a shotgun marriage.
For many voters, especially women, the Hillary campaign was a crusade that they have trouble putting behind them. Hillary emerges a stronger figure for having run while her husband has been diminished. How he deals with that, knowing his competitive nature, has implications for Obama, his party and the country. Bill Clinton has always been best when the chips are down, and those who love him or loathe him expect him to meet the test this evening.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
