Hillary Clinton named presidential nominee
Democrats officially nominated Hillary Clinton as their nominee on Tuesday, making her the first woman to be nominated by a major political party in a presidential race. Her path was smoothed last night by former president Bill Clinton who, in a highly personal address, sought to re-cast his wife as an agent of change and to capitalize on the symbolism of the moment. “This woman has never been satisfied with the status quo in anything,” he said. “Hillary will make us stronger together.” The speech may have established him as more of an asset than a liability for the Clinton campaign.
Often ignoring the teleprompter, the 42nd president spoke for 42 minutes at the Democratic National Convention last night. He uttered more than 5,000 words. The length, however, does not mean it was an undisciplined performance. Last night, he really focused expressly on making the case for his wife. When he mentioned his own political career or alluded to his own foibles, it was as a foil to praise her. So while Bill took unmistakable shots at Donald Trump, he never named him....And every punch he landed was really about contrasting her with him.
The 69-year-old – speaking for the 10th time at a national convention – cared less about delivering soundbites for cable or social media consumption and more about re-introducing, re-branding and re-framing how Americans think about a woman who has been an often polarizing figure during her 25 years on the national stage.
That meant starting his speech in 1971, when she caught his eye at Yale Law School, and narrating the story of their life together in the intervening 45 years.
“In this one speech, he was essentially making good on a marital and political promissory note by employing the full measure of his rhetorical skills to boost his wife’s history-making week as the first woman to become a major party nominee,” Clinton biographer David Maraniss writes. “It was an unusual speech from beginning to end, as the husband tried to make the case for his wife through a quiet, rambling, at times touching, at times prosaic love letter, the likes of which no modern convention has ever quite seen or heard.”
“The Bill Clinton of 2016 is a shadow of his former self, thinned by years of a vegan diet following heart bypass surgery,” David adds. “His speeches for his wife during the 2016 primary campaign seemed subdued, with only occasional moments when he rose to his previous high standards. But aides and friends say that this speech meant more to him than any he had given this year.”
-- In some ways it was an exercise in box checking. Big picture, Bill wanted to convey that Hillary is a loveable, “real” human being – not the “cartoon” caricature that Republicans have tried to make her. But he also, often explicitly, stressed that his wife has several other personality traits: authenticity, trustworthiness, compassion, drive and effectiveness.
With an apparent allusion to his infidelity, he touted her loyalty. “We’ve done it in good times and bad, through joy and heartbreak,” he said, adding later: “She never quit on me.”
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- President Obama also suggested that Russia could be responsible for the DNC email leak, calling the hacking “characteristic” of the country’s government and suggesting they have a motive to meddle in this year’s election. From Tom Hamburger: “What we do know is that the Russians hack our systems, not just government systems but private systems,” Obama told NBC. “What the motives were in terms of the leaks, all that — I can’t say directly. What I do know is that Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin.” Obama’s comments echo those of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, who said Russian government orchestrated the Wikileaks release as a way to help Trump.
-- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a British TV channel that he sees Hillary as a personal foe because she was among those pushing to indict him after he posted secret diplomatic cables during her tenure at the State Department, per the New York Times' Charlie Savage.
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Russian hackers ‘behind DNC leak’
There is an emerging consensus within the Obama administration that Russian hackers infiltrated the data networks of the Democratic National Committee and leaked thousands of internal emails, a senior administration official said, suggesting the code used to execute the data breach points to Russian culprits. However, the source could not “unequivocally” attribute the attack to a “Russian state actor”.
- President Obama also suggested that Russia could be responsible for the DNC email leak, calling the hacking “characteristic” of the country’s government and suggesting they have a motive to meddle in this year’s election. From Tom Hamburger: “What we do know is that the Russians hack our systems, not just government systems but private systems,” Obama told NBC. “What the motives were in terms of the leaks, all that — I can’t say directly. What I do know is that Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin.” Obama’s comments echo those of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, who said Russian government orchestrated the Wikileaks release as a way to help Trump.
-- Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a British TV channel that he sees Hillary as a personal foe because she was among those pushing to indict him after he posted secret diplomatic cables during her tenure at the State Department, per the New York Times' Charlie Savage.