Hillary Clinton made American history at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, then offered America a warmed-over version of what it’s had for the last seven years.
If leftovers are what the people want, and the last nearly two terms of Barack Obama have been to their liking, they’ll elect her the first woman president of the United States. If not, they’ll look elsewhere.
Clinton, the former first lady, back-bench senator and disastrous, one-term secretary of state, accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party that had worked behind the scenes to make her heir to the throne. Whether those who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, against whom the party plotted in that divisive effort, join her may make a difference in the race.
The nominee, who, like Republican nominee Donald Trump, has one of the highest negative rates for any presidential candidate in measured history (68 percent, in a CNN poll, say she is not honest and trustworthy), had a daunting task in delivering her acceptance speech. She needed to present warmth (she admitted her public service has been more service than public); she needed to present herself as qualified (the Benghazi and email scandals had soured her reputation in her most recent office); and she needed to attack Republican candidate Donald Trump (his post-convention polling bump had put him ahead in opinion polls).
Of those three tasks, she accomplished the third more artfully than the first two. Of course, Clintons are always most effective when attacking.