Clinton Releases Delegates after Speech at Convention Praised

By Anastacia Mott Austin

In the aftermath of Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Democratic national convention this week, praise for her unequivocal support of Barack Obama as the nominee of her party has come from all sides.

"That was a strong speech. I thought she was outstanding," said Obama.

Clinton was greeted with a prolonged ovation as she took the podium, and she did what she was supposed to do: announce herself – with more conviction than many may have expected – as "a proud supporter of Barack Obama," which also drew loud applause.

She strongly urged her supporters to get behind Obama, saying that the future of the country depended on not having four more years of Republican leadership. Added Clinton, "No way, no how, no McCain."

Some pundits say her speech was the first to deliver any criticism of the existing administration that had any punch, though she was certainly not the first speaker to do so. Kansas governor Kathleen Sebellius compared McCain to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, saying, "There’s no place like home. And home. And home. And home." And Senator Robert Casey offered his own impression of McCain’s voting record (in which he said McCain voted with Bush over 90% of the time): "That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick."

But the reason why Clinton’s comments received more attention, say those acerbic observers of political life, is that she doesn’t even try to be nice. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not, but certainly Clinton’s bulldog-like style has received both much criticism as well as praise, so maybe this time it was a compliment.

"Whether you voted for me, or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," said Clinton during her speech.

She has so far appeared to mean what she says. The morning after the speech, she spoke to a group of about 1,000 of her pledged delegates, releasing them from their commitment to her and urging them to vote for Obama. "I am here to release you," she told them, adding, "I am not telling you what to do [but] I signed my ballot this morning for Senator Obama."

Attention now turns to Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, who will make his speech after Obama is officially named as the nominee for the Democratic Party. Many anticipate this speech, to see what the former leader will say, and wonder how he will conceal what many say is his lingering anger over the primary campaign.

But Hillary seems, at least outwardly, to have (finally) let it go, and said to her supporters, "At the end of the day we will nominate Barack Obama and Joe Biden."