Big Dog, Explainer-In-Chief

Bill Clinton came through massively in his big speech last night, leaving Dems a-flutter, Republicans furious, and swing voters tuning in to hear his message.  Here's the entire speech, a 50 minute barnburner:



Highlights for me, anyway:

One of the main reasons we ought to re-elect President Obama is that he is still committed to constructive cooperation. (Cheers, applause.) Look at his record. Look at his record. (Cheers, applause.) Look at his record. He appointed Republican secretaries of defense, the Army and transportation. He appointed a vice president who ran against him in 2008. (Laughter, applause.) And he trusted that vice president to oversee the successful end of the war in Iraq and the implementation of the recovery act. (Cheers, applause.) 

And Joe Biden — Joe Biden did a great job with both. (Sustained cheers, applause.) 

He — (sustained cheers, applause) — President Obama — President Obama appointed several members of his Cabinet even though they supported Hillary in the primary. (Applause.) Heck, he even appointed Hillary. (Cheers, applause.) 

Wait a minute. I am — (sustained cheers, applause) — I am very proud of her. I am proud of the job she and the national security team have done for America. (Cheers, applause.) I am grateful that they have worked together to make us safer and stronger, to build a world with more partners and fewer enemies. I’m grateful for the relationship of respect and partnership she and the president have enjoyed and the signal that sends to the rest of the world, that democracy does not have a blood — have to be a blood sport, it can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest. (Cheers, applause.) 

Can you imagine a Republican talking about cooperation and compromise with Democrats in 2012?  Not without them getting booed out of the hall and the rest of us laughing at their obvious insincerity.

Former President Clinton made a hell of a case for the Obama presidency, and he did it in such an effective way, the crowd was yelling "four more years" at Bill Clinton, talking about Barack Obama.  He basically annihilated, point for point, the Republican lies about the auto bailout, those awful "Obama weakened welfare" lying ads from Romney (It was Clinton's law being weakened supposedly, and he called bullcrap on Romney on national TV) and the stimulus, and sold healthcare reform better than anyone I've seen. 

And yes, that includes President Obama.  As somebody said last night on Twitter, Obama's policies plus Clinton's communication equals the new FDR moment in America, and that's the kind of stuff I enjoy staying up to 11:30 PM or so to see.  Clinton killed it, period. Nowhere in that speech was there any evidence that Clinton supposedly "hated" Obama.  And that drove the Village and the Right absolutely crazy last night.

Where was Dubya last week, Republicans?  Oh yeah, that's right. You hid him.  You guys WISH you had Big Dog.

Instead, you have a herd of yippy dogs, barking and barking and that's all they do.