The Note: Hillary Clinton Backs Obama in Speech, Now It's Bill's Turn

Aug. 27, 2008 -- One Clinton down, one to go. (And yes, the party's getting there, even if that other Clinton is heeding his wife's words and going a bit early.)

To the extent that a single speech can suck the drama out of a convention that was stuffed with it -- and a party that's grown sick of it -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did her part Tuesday night.

With two political futures at stake, she gave the party something to be excited about -- and to ensure that if her backers don't come around to Sen. Barack Obama, it won't be her fault. (If she didn't heap on the praise, at least she was genuine.)

The Denver Post goes with capital letters: "THE TEAM PLAYER."

If you looked carefully enough, you saw a message coming together at the Pepsi Center -- a procession of speakers competing for sound-bite-of-the-night (and how about Gov. Brian Schweitzer, D-Mont.?) in bashing Sen. John McCain -- then Hillary tying it in a neat bow for the Democratic Party to marvel at.

Now, it's Bill Clinton's chance to make sure it doesn't unravel. (And it falls to Obamaland to reconsider/redesign/spin the setting for Thursday night. A Greek temple? Were they out of Roman thrones?)

As for Wednesday's marquee speech (with apologies to Joe Biden, who has a pretty big night on tap himself):

"Take away the context of this campaign year, and they could be pals, perhaps even big and little brothers of the Democratic family -- the so-called first black president mentors a prospective real black president. But context is everything in politics, and because of that their relationship is anything but close," David Maraniss writes in a Washington Post must-read-and-digest.

"He intends to do what is expected of him, according to many friends and associates, and try to convince the public that Obama has the toughness and wisdom to be commander in chief," Maraniss continues.

"But though the speech might be as important to Clinton as it is to Obama, those close to him say he will deliver it with lingering feelings of estrangement that have surprisingly little to do with the fact that Obama defeated his wife in the primaries. . . . Clinton associates, long familiar with his habits and rhythms, say it would take little more than phone calls on a somewhat regular basis to keep him satisfied."

(Mr. President, we ask again: Is he ready?)

"We're not nervous at all," Obama advisor Anita Dunn said in the campaign's morning convention conference call, per ABC's Sunlen Miller.

Said Bill, surprising party-goers at Invesco Field late Tuesday: "Hillary made the only argument [that] matters tonight. Nothing else matters. This election is not about a politician," he said, per the Chicago Tribune's Josh Drobnyk. "You really don't have any choice."

On Sen. Clinton's night, yet another Indiana victory speech became a rational, sound argument for her supporters to back Obama.

Yes, as ABC's Diane Sawyer noted on "Good Morning America" Wednesday, we didn't hear any adjectives in Clinton's praise.

Yes, it was about her -- "Keep going," she said (and who else could she have been speaking to?) -- but in fairness, to millions of her disappointed supporters (and thousands who converged on Denver in frustration/anger/helplessness) it was going to be about her anyway.

"For one evening, their political world was perfect. Or so it seemed," the AP's Ron Fournier writes. "By the time she was done, Sen. Clinton had delivered a strong, convincing affirmation of Obama and, just as importantly, a thumping of McCain. She did her part. Her husband takes the stage Wednesday and then Obama must make his case to the American people that he will be ready on Day One."

"I think she aced it," ABC's George Stephanopoulos said on "Good Morning America" Wednesday. As for Bill: "He's got to do what Hillary Clinton didn't do. He's got to try and validate Barack Obama as commander-in-chief."

A dream lede, from the Los Angeles Times' Mark Z. Barabak: "Hillary Rodham Clinton, accepting defeat with grace and generosity, moved to close the divide among fellow Democrats on Tuesday night by offering a forceful and unequivocal endorsement of her fierce rival."

And perception becomes reality here: "It came as the message emanating from the Denver convention hall abruptly pivoted from biography to an emphasis on the differences between Obama and McCain," Barabak adds. "One speaker after another took turns on Tuesday pummeling the Arizona senator -- and President Bush -- using economic issues as their club."

It was an "emphatic plea" from Clinton to unite behind Obama -- but there was more at work even on Tuesday, Patrick Healy reports in The New York Times. Clinton "also took steps on Tuesday -- deliberate steps, aides said -- to keep the door open to a future bid for the presidency," he writes.

"Mrs. Clinton wanted to ensure that her star turn at the convention could never be portrayed as insufficiently enthusiastic, should Mr. Obama lose the election in part because swaths of her supporters ultimately did not vote for him," Healy continues. "Mrs. Clinton is almost certain to run for president in 2012 if Mr. Obama fails this time, several Clinton advisers said Tuesday."

"In an address closely scrutinized for perceived slights against Obama, Clinton threw herself fully behind the man she battled and often criticized during a long and at times bitter primary campaign," The Boston Globe's Susan Milligan writes.

"This was a Clinton speech that didn't require any parsing of words," adds the Globe's Peter Canellos.

Michael Saul and David Saltonstall, in the New York Daily News: "Moving forcefully but gracefully to tamp down the enduring bitterness over her tough primary battle with Barack Obama, Clinton unequivocally beseeched her Democratic supporters to follow her lead and vote for the Illinois senator in November."

Salon's Joan Walsh: "While reporters run around Denver chasing the Clinton-loving PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) -- and believe me, they're here -- Clinton sent an unambiguous message: Party Unity My Ass, my ass."

Could Camp Clinton have designed it better than to let the senator provide the excitement? "Her speech gave the convention an emotional lift after a desultory second day of speeches by a parade of Democratic politicians," McClatchy's David Lightman and Margaret Talev write.

"She offered the electrifying fight that the limpid Obama has not -- setting off paranoia among some Democrats that they had chosen the wrong nominee or that Obama had chosen the wrong running mate," Maureen Dowd writes in her New York Times column. "As in Obama's favorite movie, 'The Godfather,' every time Democrats try to get away, the Clintons pull them back in."

The Clinton drama does get one more turn on Wednesday: Here comes the roll call (will it be responsible for the cardinal convention sin: making news?). And here comes Bill.

It's Sen. Joe Biden's night, but: "The attention today will turn to Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, who will speak to the convention," Bloomberg's Kristin Jensen and Catherine Dodge.

Catch him now, while you can: Per CNN's Candy Crowley, "Hillary Clinton will be on hand for Barack Obama's acceptance speech, but according to a source close to former President Bill Clinton, he will not."

(No slights here, insists Camp Clinton -- but surely they realize that circumstances are such that this is slightly different than Al Gore's or John Kerry's roll call. If they don't -- Mr. Drudge is taking care of that.)