Hillary’s Tepid Endorsement

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech last night before the delegates at the Democratic National Convention was about as good as it gets when it comes to convention speeches. She managed to combine the rhetorical flourish of campaign oratory with the hard-nosed commanding presence of a general leading her troops into battle. She exhorted the crowd to help America get down to business; pass healthcare reform to cover the uninsured; build a world-class education system that is accessible to more Americans; and return America to the economic prosperity it enjoyed under the leadership of President Bill Clinton.

Furthermore, Sen. Clinton (D-N.Y.) made it clear that electing John McCain would constitute a setback. Electing Barack Obama, she acknowledged, was the right thing to do, if only because leaving the country in the hands of Republicans for four more years would make us worse off. And, well, that was about it.

Curiously absent from Sen. Clinton’s speech was any mention of Barack Obama’s fitness or ability to lead this country going forward. Hillary failed to specifically spell out what she believed to be the facets of Sen. Obama’s character and experience that makes him capable of delivering the future the Democrats envision for this country. Compare Hillary’s speech with President Clinton’s remarks earlier that day, and the Clintons’ diabolical intentions begin to emerge.

Bill Clinton posed a hypothetical question: When faced with the choice between two candidates, one whose policies you agree with completely but whom you don’t believe can deliver, or another, whose policies may be only half-agreeable but who can actually deliver, whom would you choose? In other words, Bill Clinton seemed to suggest that electing Sen. Obama would lead to a complete loss, while electing McCain would at least provide a modest gain.

Bill and Hillary’s coordinated attack on Sen. Obama was so skillful and calculating that one cannot help but admire the depths of their betrayal to their own party’s success in this election. But a betrayal it certainly is.