If you saw or heard or witnessed President Obama’s speech last night, count yourself lucky. You could hear a thousand, make that ten thousand political speeches, and you might never hear its equal.
Part valedictory, part character witness for Hillary Clinton, Obama showed he hasn’t lost a thing from the soaring razzle-dazzle that propelled him into the White House and history.
His aim was to make the defense case for his own two terms while also making the case for, as he said, “passing the baton” to Clinton.
He succeeded spectacularly for himself, spinning an ode to America, its people and values that provoked more than a few tears, including his own. He was saying good-bye as only he could–by launching the big, raucous crowd to its feet time and again. The greatest vote getter in American history put on a clinic of charisma.
As for helping Clinton, he spared no effort in trashing Donald Trump, saying the choice “isn’t even close.” But much of his praise for her were not original, instead reflecting lines from her campaign, such as “stronger together, and ideas, as when he said “There has never been a man or a woman, not me, and not Bill, more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president.”
Whether he can transfer his political magic and voters to her is not entirely up to him. It is up to Clinton herself.
Her opponent is as subtle as a punch in the nose, and Trump did it again yesterday, driving Democrats nuts by urging Vladimir Putin to find and release Hillary’s missing 30,000 emails.
The incident captures the central challenge Trump presents: How does Clinton block his punches, and assuming she’s not a nose-puncher herself, what is she?
Thursday night’s acceptance speech is one of her last, best chances to answer those questions and reinvent herself in appealing and convincing ways.
If it’s not Mission Impossible, it’s damn close. She is so well known that the chance of success in creating a new persona recalls the biblical warning about the rich getting to heaven: “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”
Her problem is illustrated by how far her designated flatterers had to stretch just to make her seem worthy. Other than Obama’s matter-of-fact praise, the extravagant descriptions from others of a living saint don’t ring true with the 68 percent of voters who find Clinton dishonest and untrustworthy.
Even her husband’s attempt to paint a glowing portrait largely fell flat. Near the end, Bill Clinton acknowledged that there are two Hillaries in the public mind, one real and one “made up” by her enemies.
“You just have to decide,” he told the big crowd. “You just have to decide which is which.”
How odd. Those poll numbers mean Americans already have decided.
It’s not that the vast majority don’t like her because they don’t know her. They don’t like her because they know her.
Peeling off the “dishonest” tag isn’t possible, certainly not this week, so Hillary should be careful to avoid the Mother Teresa trap in her own speech. Going for broke now could backfire.
The best she can do for herself is take baby steps to rebuild her credibility. Overstating her case would ring false, and widen her trust deficit.
Yet there also are pitfalls in painting herself as a steady, responsible adult. This is a change election and Bernie Sanders voters, along with Trump’s, have no time for incrementalism.
Obama is also a potential problem. The president fancies himself the biggest change agent, so he wants Clinton to represent his third term, not a radical break with the first two.
That suggests another term of art: Clinton is screwed. Squeezed on all sides, she’s got little room to maneuver without upsetting the fragile Democratic coalition. It represents about 40 percent of the electorate, which matches her standing in most polls, so she can’t afford to lose any of it.
Perhaps her slogan should be “change, but not too much.”
There is, of course, another, better path to victory. It also recalls an animal story, though not biblical.
Two men in the woods spot a bear, and one starts to run. The other scoffs, saying “you can’t outrun a bear.” To which the runner responds: “I don’t have to. I only have to outrun you.”
Clinton doesn’t have to be perfect, only better than Trump. She doesn’t have to be a nose puncher or a saint, just have better answers to all the big questions. It’s her main advantage because of her superior knowledge and government experience.
If she continues to pander and or flip-flop, her advantage will disappear next to Trump’s sense of certainty, even when he is wrong, as he is when he praises tyrants.
In a nutshell, Clinton should just relax and be herself. Assuming, of course, she knows who she is. Even Obama can’t help her on that.