This is how the Hillary speech looked from where I was standing. You definitely had a better view of her watching on TV than I did. Still, being in the hall is thrilling. Since the party has been operating for a couple of months as if Obama is the nominee, we forget that about half the delegates were Hillary people. The roar of affection for her from the crowd was intense.
I see some Obama fans are annoyed that Hillary didn’t speak to his character, judgment or qualifications. I sympathize. That would have made an excellent speech perfect.
But those folks should look at the miraculous way unity happened on the Republican side. The non-McCain voters, including conservative Christians, hated him just as much as the Hillary voters do Obama. But they’ve closed ranks around McCain much faster. And it’s NOT because they’ve discovered things about McCain they hadn’t known. It’s because they became they focused on Obama. McCain may be annoying, but Obama is the anti-Christ.
Hillary, for what it’s worth, was infinitely more generous than one of the heroes of Monday night, Ted Kennedy. I covered the 1980 Democratic convention, when he ran against Jimmy Carter. Carter had to practically chase him around the stage to grab him for a unity photo.