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NationofChange / Op-Ed
Published: Friday 7 September 2012
“Republicans have eschewed all detail, all fact, all logic. Theirs has been a campaign of ideological bromides mixed with outright bald-faced lies.”
The Real Importance of Bill Clinton’s Wonderfully Long Speech
Bill Clinton’s speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention was very long but it was masterful — not only in laying out the case for Barack Obama and against Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, but in giving the American public what they most want and need in this election season: details, facts, and logic.
Republicans have eschewed all detail, all fact, all logic. Theirs has been a campaign of ideological bromides mixed with outright bald-faced lies.
Therein lies the importance of what Bill Clinton accomplished tonight. But, just as importantly, it wasn’t a wonky talk. He packaged the facts in a way people could hear. This is the highest calling of a public educator.The question is not how many undecided voters saw the speech (I doubt many did) but whether it galvanizes Democrats — giving them the clarity of conviction and argument they need over the next nine weeks to explain why Obama must be re-elected, and why a Romney-Ryan administration would be a disaster for this country.
I believe Clinton’s speech accomplished this perfectly. We shall see.
This article was originally posted on Robert Reich's blog.
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ABOUT Robert Reich
ROBERT B. REICH, one of the nation’s leading experts on work and the economy, is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. Time Magazine has named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including his latest best-seller, “Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future;” “The Work of Nations,” which has been translated into 22 languages; and his newest, an e-book, “Beyond Outrage.” His syndicated columns, television appearances, and public radio commentaries reach millions of people each week. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, and Chairman of the citizen’s group Common Cause. His widely-read blog can be found at www.robertreich.org.
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By Kiley Kroh
13 comments on "The Real Importance of Bill Clinton’s Wonderfully Long Speech"
September 11, 2012 12:09am
Convicted and impeached liar putting the record straight. Yeah the generally dumbed and numbed publics memory has slipped another notch. NOT EXCITED.... Therein lies Bill Clinton for team Obama. No Choice really no lesser evil only a thinly candy coated gloss...
September 09, 2012 5:36pm
Thanks again Robert Reich for speaking for the sensible and educated public that yearns to experience more civility and intelligence around .
Clinton speech elevated the dialogue to what it needs to be, clear, articulate and factual. Obama deserves a second term because the American people voted for change and he is giving us that every day, the problem is that the GOP does not want to listen to the American people. Form them the bottom line is always number one............the God that rules their universe.
September 07, 2012 10:38pm
I loved the speech, but then I will watch Clinton anytime! What a man! I only wish that he had hit a little harder (assuming ANY Republicans were watching and assuming ANY Republicans are open to accepting information that does not reinforce their fossilized idealogy) on the "Are we better off now" thing. I wish he had said that after 12 years of Republicans, a Democrat left us with a surplus and worldwide support. I wish that he would have said how Bush squandered all of that and more in just 8 years. He did say it, but just not quite forcefully enough. Most Republicans don't even like Bush, so I think he could have said it.
September 07, 2012 10:32pm
Pennywise, I agree very much with your opinion, but I must say the photo is beyond distracting. Unfortunately, it is so playfully disgusting that it lowers the credibility of your well-written paragraph.
section five village, md
September 08, 2012 8:28pm
Too much huh? Beyond distracting wasn't what i was going for. Distracting was OK. My trips to Victoria's Secret are a form of self congratulation. Pres. Clinton's "take notes kids, this is how it's done" speech made me feel younger. I know I should just have a rabbit's foot or something, but I wore this little confidence maker to my interview at Dartmouth and had wonderful years there. I wore this under my fatiques when I made my 1st 5 jumps. When I briefed a very important politician from England, I made sure I had my luckey "calmers" on. I'm convinced I got my mortgage because of the luck they bring and it'd my little secret. I'm kind of proud of my seven mile a day legs and my glutes. Don't think too harsh of me. I was celebrating the good mood the other night's speeches put me in. We had it coming, don't you think?
section five village, md
September 07, 2012 10:07pm
When I see Bill Clinton reducing the entire Republican platform to "you left the country in a total mess, you want to throw us out because we're not cleaning your mess up fast enough and put you back in" we're talking Mark Twain or Will Rogers. The 1st time we were subjected to modern Republican vindictive, unrelenting hate as a plan of business was when they stood on Bill Clinton's chest for years, bearly letting the man breathe, never mind govern. We all knew it was exactly the same kind of vile hatred that Mitch McConell, R-KY is using when instead of thanking America for supporting a state that can't make it on it's own, spouts his goal has been to make Pres. Obama a one term president. Day after day month after month, year after year, constipating our legislative process, with no regard to pending necessities. We're going to find that had Bill Clinton been supported and allowed to lead there would have been another Camelot, a high point even for our democracy. This will make the sins of the Republican legislators in the Clinton administration twice as vile as we thought at the time. Bill Clinton's going to be around for a long time and he's going to look smarter with each passing year. Newt who?
September 09, 2012 5:38pm
Your ass discredits your words.
September 07, 2012 7:18pm
Yes definitely Tweedle Dumb is better than Tweedle Dee!
Dems vs Pubs
Dog doo or Camel poo take you pic
September 07, 2012 3:44pm
When Professor Reich gets it right, he really gets it right.
Mr. Clinton's speech was the speech of the Convention. Of BOTH Conventions.
That will not stop the FOX News KnuckleHeads from trying to poke holes in it, but hey.....good luck with that.
September 07, 2012 1:12pm
In case you missed it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5knEXDsrL4
September 07, 2012 12:41pm
After watching Clinton in true form that night, I thought to myself, for better or worse, "If Clinton were running for the presidency this fall, he'd sweep."
September 07, 2012 11:05am
Well said! I can't add any more to what you said, at least not now.
September 07, 2012 10:58am
The fact that Clinton has a handle on numbers and statistics shows why his administration was successful in dealing with the economy. It wasn't "simple" arithmetic to get a surplus and a plan to pay off the national debt, but it was still arithmetic, combined with some horse-trading.
If Republicans want to fix our country's problems, they have to abandon the "trickle down" economics - it's a sham that has been proven not to work. The numbers just don't add up. Taxing the wealthy, reducing the military budget, ending corporate tax dodges, and investing in a modern and green economy are what will cure our financial problems. Anything else is just prolonging the agony. The only reason the party still exists is because of selfish special interests that pay a lot of money to keep those necessary steps from happening.