Clinton shows winning way in defeat
In the end, she showed the grace that she had hidden throughout her campaign. In the end, she shined and proved what a formidable political tour de force she actually is. In the end, she gave her total commitment to the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.
It was what The Guardian have called "an astonishing moment of political theatre, ripe with symbolism and the passing of a generational torch in Democratic politics". For we witnessed no less than that.
I've bemoaned many times the snide comments she has made about her Democratic rival, but - in conceding - her support for him could not be more forthcoming.Clinton admonished any of her fans who were even thinking of letting their defeat turn them off voting for Obama: 'Please don't go there. Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from looking forward. Life is too short, time is too precious and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been.'
She even went as far as to use Obama's own campaign phrase to emphasise the positivity of the American people in the face of adversity by declaring, "Yes we can!"
Having started this campaign very happy to see her and Bill re-enter the White House, and having grown increasingly bitter as she threw the kitchen sink at her Democratic rival, I am happy to say that she left the stage with great grace, that her endorsement could not have been more fulsome, and that her supporters have been left in no doubt as to what their candidate wants them to do. She wants them to vote for Barack Obama.But Clinton betrayed little sense of inner turmoil at her new-found position as an also-ran. As soon as she took the stage, almost drowned out by cries of 'Hillary! Hillary!', she remarked she had not expected to find herself here. 'This is not exactly the party I planned, but I sure do love the company,' she joked.
But Clinton's 'company' is now crucial to Obama's success. She has generated huge support among working class white people and women, where Obama is weak. Her enthusiastic endorsement of him will surely persuade many not to jump ship to Republican candidate John McCain. Her words will particularly resonate with women. In all the amazement at Obama's success, it has often been forgotten how remarkable Clinton's achievement was in breaking down the 'glass ceiling' of US politics. In becoming the first woman to come within a whisper of being a Democratic presidential nominee, she shattered barriers on behalf of her sex, proving she is a giant of American politics in her own right, not just as a former First Lady.
We could ask for no more.
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