Thank The Clintons

A little made up tension is not such a bad thing. Of course, anyone with any knowledge of politics knows that Bill and Hillary would come around to fully support Senator Obama. (This is being written just hours before Bill's Wednesday night speech). The two of them are Democrats and any longtime member of a major political party must find a way to bury the hatchet and move on with the majority. The Clintons are not fools and know where their bread is buttered.

But with a convention in Denver devoid of any suspense, as it is already preordained that Obama would receive the nomination, why not add a little drama to the mix to convince people that turning into the convention would be "must see TV". Without the Clinton angle what would the convention have looked like. A bunch of no name politicos praising Obama and raining damnation upon McCain and President Bush. After a few tired speeches (see keynote speaker Mark Warner as an example), the general population would have turned off the cable and broadcast channels airing the Denver love fest and gone back to more entertaining options on their cable boxes.

So in the long run, the so called "Obama-Clinton rift" will be looked at as a blessing. Monday night, over twenty-two million watched as Michelle Obama sang her husband's praises while giving the first salvo of recognition to Hillary. Tuesday night, millions more were riveted as Hillary herself
gave a concise twenty-three minute speech proclaiming her loyalty to Mr. Obama. Instead of a plodding speech by a former president, all eyes are now going to be glued to the screen as Bill reaches within himself to come to peace with his wife's former competitor. And of course, Thursday night promises more excitement as not only Barack Obama accepts an historical nomination but uses part of his precious time to thank the Clintons for their newly found love.

The Democratic Party's long primary battle squeezed the GOP and John McCain off the front pages for months on end and this last bit of suspense has continued the process. The Republicans will be hard pressed to create the Hollywood story that is playing out in Denver and will almost definitely come short in drawing the amount of Americans who watched the Democrat's convention. The fight for unity and hope just still might trump the call for a retreat to the past and a play for the politics of fear and hatred.