Hillary Came Through

Tonight Hillary took my breath away and in so doing touched my soul.

Her speech was worth the price of admission to this entire convention (and it is a hefty price).

I was moved so profoundly, that as I walked out of the Pepsi Center, I felt as though I had been to a concert of such artistic excellence that my soul was touched in way that will leave me forever changed.

But this is politics. How can I explain such a thing?

Here goes.

First off, it was good to be in the Pepsi Center and mingle with the elite of the Democratic party. There is an energy present in the center that completely changes the dynamic of the event. It is not possible for me to report how it went over on TV, I can only share what it was like for me to be there.

Second, As Charles Dickens said in beginning of the Christmas Carol, “there is something that must be understood.” In this case, we must not underestimate the tension between the Obama camp and the Clinton camp. It exists at the highest levels and it exists at the delegate level and I don’t know if it can be healed.

Third, from virtually every perspective, up until Hillary’s speech, tonight was a dud. I was there when it started at 3 p.m. MDT and I stayed until 10:30 p.m. and I listened to what seemed like 60 speeches of various types. Everything about the evening was so scripted, so technically perfect, so on message, that it lacked both authenticity and depth.

Moreover, the quality of the entire package leading to Hillary was so poor, that part of me wondered if the Obama camp hadn’t designed the evening so as to punish Hillary by doing everything it could to ensure that as few people as possible were still watching when Hillary came on. Last night had several crescendo’s, tonight had none, until the very end.

Additionally, I don’t know how the Democrats could have done a worse job scripting an evening celebrating the passage of the 19th Amendment for women’s suffrage. This was a softball the Democrats should have easily hit out of the park. Yet they struck out. Having the most boring male speakers in the party back to back for 2 hours in prime time is not an approach that would have dawned on me.

And as the evening crawled forward, the political side of myself was constantly asking, “Is this what the Obama team wanted? Is this her punishment for pushing her candidacy to a conclusion with the floor vote tomorrow?”

I was feeling punished. I can only imagine America felt the same way.

And then came the first moment of fascination in this convention. Hillary wasn’t going to play along with the farce that Obama has already been nominated. She was injecting unscripted drama into a convention devoid of it and we all wondered what she would say?

Chelsea came out, and introduced her Mom without even using her name. It was almost as if she was saying, “this woman who needs no introduction is what you could have had.”

Hillary followed by giving the best speech I ever heard her give. From the first line she put everyone at ease by fully and completely endorsing Barack Obama. She didn’t just do it, she did it with an elegance and grace and depth and poise that was absolutely riveting. The entire speech I was constantly filled with the sense she couldn’t do this any better and then she would, right to the end.

She endorsed Obama and she did it not just better than anyone imagined, but better than I have ever witnessed. Everyone knows how badly she wanted this convention to be hers. That made the performance all the more impressive and moving.

I came into the day looking for ideas, and I was quickly persuaded that if I was looking for ideas I had come to the wrong place, and I was disappointed. Deeply. But at the end of the day, I received a great gift, I saw someone concede with grace, and leaving all partisanship aside, it was done so well, I was moved in the deepest part of my soul.

But that is only part of the story.

Tonight was also an answer to the prayers of John McCain. We will explore that in a posting tomorrow morning.