Clinton's speech helps bring Democrats together (update: excerpts)

Quick reaction cross-posted from The Forvm ; you're welcome to comment there if so inclined

A truly moving, heartfelt, and gracious speech. Senator Clinton opened with stories of her supporters who have given so much to promote her campaign, then passionately called for support of Obama and laid out the reasons we need a Democrat in the White House: for boosting the economy, for reforming health care, for responsibly ending the war in Iraq. Finally, she looked back at how far women in US politics have come, and how her candidacy has helped make the path easier in the future for a woman to become President.

It's been a long and at times bitter primary, but it's also been a historic campaign and I'm proud to be a member of a party that has put forward such qualified and groundbreaking candidates for President.

Now we move forward, and part of the question is what role Clinton will claim in an Obama campaign and administration. I actually don't think the VP slot is likely; it disrupts his campaign theme and it's not really a role that showcases her strengths. I would think she'll be offered some significant role, perhaps overseeing health care reform. It's possible Obama could end up with several of the former Democratic Presidential contenders involved in his administration; some of the possibilities include Edwards at AG, Biden at State, perhaps Richardson as VP. (Oh, and Bill Clinton as UN Ambassador?) Regardless of what particular people he chooses, I think it's important that he surrounds himself with people who aren't afraid to challenge his positions, who have strong ideas of their own, but who can work well as a unified team once a consensus decision is reached.

In a way, this is what Democrats themselves ought to do going forward. Obama and Clinton supporters don't have to agree on every issue, and Obama isn't "right" because he got the nomination. There's plenty of room within the party for discussion about the best way to achieve the goals we share, as long as we can work together when the chips are down. One of the strengths of Obama's campaign has been its deliberate bottom-up organization; despite the sometimes obsessive focus on his soaring rhetoric, the movement really isn't about him. Anyone who's volunteered for his campaign can attest that there is a goal to build a large-scale grassroots presence throughout the US that will influence local politics as well as help elect Democrats to national office. These are goals that Clinton supporters can get behind, whatever their opinion of Obama or of some of his stances. And of course the best way to influence the party is from within; we'll work to elect Democrats who will work for us and then we'll hold them accountable for their promises and try to persuade them to see things our way on those issues where we disagree with the leadership.

In the end, Clinton lost because of a sluggish campaign that didn't take advantage of the delegate allocation rules, that was fractured by infighting, and that was ill-served by top advisers who misread the political winds. After two terms of Republican incompetence "change" was always going to be a difficult theme to run against, and if it was a predictable direction for the Obama campaign to go it still somehow caught the Clinton campaign flatfooted. However, the primary did expose some legitimate concerns about the process by which we choose a nominee, and now that the primary is concluded Obama and Clinton supporters need to sit down together and work to reform the system. A randomized order for primaries and clearcut consequences if states don't abide by the rules would be a good start. The positive aspects of the long and hotly contested primary include increased Democratic registration in many of the states that will be battlegrounds in November.

So, a classy conclusion to her historic campaign, and I am sure that she will continue to have significant influence shaping the direction of the Democratic party.

Update: notable excerpts from the speech ; I hope you will forgive the lengthy quotes but there was a lot worth quoting:

Thank you so much. Thank you all.

Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company.

I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you – to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, "See, you can be anything you want to be."

[...] I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys – but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake.

[...] So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can.

Together we will work. We’ll have to work hard to get universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we have to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq, and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our President.

[...] As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time.

[...] And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives. So today, I’m going to count my blessings and keep on going. I’m going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I’ll be doing long after they’re gone: Working to give every American the same opportunities I had, and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-given potential.

I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country– and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future.

Thank you all and God bless you and God bless America.

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Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson