Her job was to convince her supporters that even though she lost it's time to move on and vote for Obama.  The harder she tried to convince her supporters to support Obama, the passion in her speech will just do the opposite and make those supporters not to vote for Obama.  

Good to know that Hillary had a great moment at the convention, made her case, and brought the audience to a frenzied moment.  I heard Dennis Kucinich was pretty electric today, too.

And I know why the likes of Hillary and Dennis were "electric", because they are REAL Democrats (esp Dennis Kucinich).  

And as for Mrs. Obama's seemingly less than enthusiastic reactions to Senator Clinton, it would behoove her husband's campaign for her to "get on board" and get over it.  The Obamas will never be the Clintons and she will never have the spot in America's electorate that Hillary has right now.

This, in the long run, has the effect of lowering the temperature on all sides.  That means less of the anti-Clinton comments that tend to stoke the flames.  Slowly, tensions ratchet down.

However, as that delegate, Anna Knowles, so eloquently stated (in as many words), the ball's in Obama's court and he needs to close the sale within the next two months.

Some people may feel compelled, not to vote for McCain, but NOT to VOTE AT ALL, because they just don't feel the person at the top of ticket is worthy of their vote.

Hillary did everything, and more, of what was expected of her tonight. NO ONE can pick fault with her now, and I PRAY they lay off her and stop hounding her.

It is Obama's turn to close the ring of Unity.

Yes, Bill has a speech to make, but he's a former Democratic President. He is owed the time to talk about his accomplishments and his vision for the party her lead for two terms in the White House. He does not owe anything to Obama, except maybe a word or two of support. It's not his job to rally Hillary's supporters. She did that already.

I felt Hillary did not have a good speaking style, that her voice tended to tense up and she could sound strained. I feared she would lose her voice and the tension in the voice seemed to indicate tension within her.

Boy, has she grown as a campaigner, speaker.

Hillary does passion--with control and honesty. She does some vocal changes and humor, which I hadn't thought she could do. She can answer questions without getting lost in a word fog or word cloud. Her fervor comes through clearly, as her ideas come through clearly.

She has truly grown and flowered.

Drat, drat, drat. Why did the MCM have to put their massive thumb on the scales???

Will it have any effect? I don't know. She gave a similarly rousing and well-received speech in her concession in June, and that didn't do a whole lot for Obama. Her supporters all already knew that she was supporting the Democratic ticket.

As for me, maybe I'm just stubborn. But when I see Hillary and what could have been, and when I see these fair-weather folks who are praising her now after calling her racist for months, I get even angrier.

That said, Obama couldn't have picked her as Veep.  Nothing to do with her or with him.  It's to do with the media.  To win this election it has to be Obama vs. McCain.  The media are trying to frame it as Obama vs. Obama.  If Clinton were on the ticket all the media oxygen would still be Obama vs. Clinton (will he really lead; how will things work out with bill; etc. etc.).  It just wouldn't have been wise to open the media up to that sort of misdirection.

But I think Hillary has done a brilliant job of setting us up for something good.  She's fully supportive of Obama.  Her line about what the campaign was really about (not her, but the people she's fighting for) is brilliant.  And in return, expect her to be given Kennedy-like stature in the Democratic party.  She'll be the lead on health care reform.  She'll have huge visibility and power in the senate.  She's earned it with her campaign (I say that grudgingly) and she earned it tonight (I say that whole-heartedly).

Meanwhile, let's keep our eyes on the ball.  If we want universal health care; if we want a world where diplomacy matters as much as bluster; if we want to take a thoughtful approach to handling the energy issue; if we want to maintain social security; if we want a government that's not about doling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in "tax cuts" to the extremely wealthy -- we need the Republicans out and the Democrats in.  And we need a team that has a Democratic president and a superb and historical Democratic leader in the senate (who happens to be a woman).

HRC convinced me not to vote for McCain.  
Only Obama can convince me to vote for Obama.  

The price to pay for HRC in 2012 is four years of gridlock.  That price seems rather inconsequential at this moment.  

Yes. But not nearly as big a mistake as the DNC did in dragging Obama across the finish line in place of the candidate a majority of Dems supported.

>How many Democrats will sit the election out?

Uh, no. Hillary did what she, as a loyal Democrat, had to do. But none of those who supported her (and I didn't initially btw) are obligated to follow her wherever she is forced to go.

Was it just for Hillary Clinton or was it for the betterment of the country???!!!!

That's the challenge she makes to her supporters and they will consider it because she speaks their language and they get it.  Yes, she probably just won the election for Obama.

But I will still not vote for Obama.  He has chosen an acceptable running mate.  Someone who knows the war was not a bad idea, but was executed so horribly badly that now people believe that American Intervention is, by definition, a bad thing.  I am glad that Biden will be there to understand this difference where others do not.

Now what Obama can do to earn my vote is this.  He can take a page out of Clinton's book, be a leader and make the same challenge to his supporters.

What was it they were fighting for?  Was it just to defeat Hillary Clinton or was it for the betterment of the country?

Now if Obama has the same kind of relationship with his supporters, and the same kind of self-confidence, if the same kind of bond that exists between Clinton and her supporters exists between Obama and his supporters, he will not have a problem challenging them on that issue.  He will do it.  And the party will come together.

If he does that, I will vote for him in November.

If he can't do that.  If he feels his supporters are so fickle and actually were more interested in defeating Clinton than making the country a better place, then he won't do that.  I will still see his lip quiver with insecurity every time Clinton gets a round of applause.  The terse smile on Michelle's face while Hillary Clinton speaks.

Does she somehow think she and the rest of the talking heads at MSNBC are not part of the media?

Those are not "just words" that you used.  and from your comments here, you choose your words with careful intent.

I cried tonight at the end of the speech, too.  And for the first time in this long, angering, appalling campaign.  But I didn't have a breakdown, either.

I feel so sad for the country because she is clealy Obama's superior.

Meanwhile she has done more for Obama than has been asked by any opposition candidate ever, and with graceand strength.

She has taken her supporters to Obama's door, and left them on the doorstep.

I can't see any reason he might not do exactly what you said.

I don't want to mind-read, but it wasn't an expression I would have expected.

My favorite part:

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?