Transcript. (I believe as delivered, but it could just be as prepared)

so I won't comment on it specifically.

One of my biggest concerns with Clinton's campaign was that time and time again when she had the opportunity to be the better person, she sort of blew it.  The ironic thing is that if she'd been the person she seems to be in defeat, as a candidate, I don't think Obama would be our nominee right now.

But, this is all idle speculation.  As Homer Simpson put it, "I'm no super genius...  or are I?"

Well said, Hillary.  As a New Yorker, and an Obama supporter, I have had mixed feelings about her during this campaign.  Ironically I will probably have a chance to vote for her again before many of her more fervent supporters do and I'm a darn sight more inclined to do so today than I have been at times in the recent past.  She was convincing and eloquent.  Ironically she has emerged wholly her own person now, a stand-alone political entity with her own voice and no need to justify her candidacy based on her husband's administration and I think that is an important and liberating transition for her.

Hillary Clinton is behind the nominee. Advocacy for McCain, for brokered conventions, or otherwise trolling against the nominee should no longer be tolerated on a site for the election of Democrats!

It was a wonderful speech. It puts to rest, IMO, any notion that she is not 100% behind Senator Obama. This was her day in the sun and she deserved it--the crowd in Washington was amazing as well. I choked up a few times watching it.

The  reason we were upset she didn't do this on Tuesday is because we suspected what the NYT is reporting in its Sunday edition ...
She was planning to give herself TWO WEEKS to decide what to do and only changed her mind because the pressure from her supporters and aides on Wed. was overwhelming.

Read the piece and you will see why we have trouble caring about the great woman we saw today when we see what kind of campaign she was running behind the scenes. Lots of disgusting details in there.

I am moving on. But place ourselves in our shoes and you will get it.

I am very happy with her today. And that's all that matters in the end.

Thank You. Reviews from David Kurtz over at TPM: "Gracious"

"Hillary's speech is striking all the right notes, while still letting her hit her familiar campaign themes in a way that makes the speech sincere and authentic, without seeming to be forced."

".. she adopted and embraced some of Obama's best lines and themes. That was the most effective rhetorical device in her speech -- and rang truer as an endorsement than merely saying, I support Obama."

-----

I'm so proud of her, and just can't get the dazzling image of them running as a unified ticket out of my mind. Hopefully, it will come to pass.

It was a good speech today and hopefully a signficant step toward unity.  She certainly could not have given this speech on Tuesday, and she certainly deserved to deliver it on a day that was hers alone.  

I think her Tuesday speech could have been better -- she could have acknowledged the milestone without at that point endorsing -- but I appreciate that this speech and this event were not an easy thing for her to do and she did it well.  Though I have certainly thought that she could have done this some time ago and would have been better off both politically and in terms of accumulated campaign debt if she had, it was clearly her call to make.  

I anticipate that she will be true to her word and work like hell to unify the party and pull off an historic Democratic victory this year -- and I am increasingly confident that that will happen, now more than ever.  Thank you, Senator Clinton, for all that you have done for our nation, and for what I know will continue to be a unique record of service in the future, in whatever role you pursue.  

Now let's go and win an election.

are between 4:21 and 4:31

Could NOT agree more.  it was a GREAT supporting speech for Obama.  I was very impressed, appreciative and I am one who has never liked the clinton's.  She certainly more than redeemed any real or perceived errors.

That speech was masterful. As some pundit put it "it was four speeches in one".

And in retrospect, I agree she couldn't have given that speech on Tuesday. It required such a delicate balance, and so many nuances, it probably required a couple days of clear-headed reflection.

People never say anything good about a politician until he or she loses. Remember how much praise Al Gore and John Kerry got for their concession speeches?

I don't trust anyone who only starts saying nice things about a candidate when he or she stops running. In that sense I almost have more respect for the people who are still opposed to Clinton than those who have been bashing her every step of the way but suddenly realize what a great person she is. At least they're consistent.

to me, her entire speech today (including all the parts where she was saying nice things about herself) seemed more genuine than most I have heard her give. I remember right around NH, there was a brief window after the "crying" moment where see seemed to overrule Mark Penn & co. and let more of her humanity show. For about a week, she was loose, seemed to be speaking from the heart and answered questions at town hall meetings honestly and completely.

as an Edwards supporter who was already contemplating what to do if he dropped out, she almost won me over that week.

but then she went back to the "typical political speech" mode, said a lot of things about Obama I am pretty sure she knew to be untrue, and when she lost primaries, she started to act like they hadn't even happened. Tuesday night when she said, "South Dakota, you had the last word," even while Montana's polls hadn't yet closed and she knew Obama was going to win that one, that pretty much capped off an entire primary season where Hillary had--to me--moved temporarily outside of the "reality based community".

Today, I didn't hear a single thing that sounded like spin. Yes, the 18 million number is a slight exaggeration, but I'm not holding that against her. Her speaking style was also much better. I agree with a lot of people--if she had followed this style of speaking the entire campaign, she might have won over just enough people to tip the outcome the other way.

Uhg
Please stop blaming.
There was no vast conspiracy.  There were 2 candidates, one had a bad strategy, bad staff and a poorly run organization.  The other one had a better strategy, a better staff, and a better organization.

"If you stumble, get right back up, and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on."

A finger in the eye for the media chorus chanting for her to drop out since January. Whatever else she may or may not have accomplished, the word "perseverance" is forever linked in the minds of millions to this woman.

Todd,

The Hillary speaking today was NOT the same Hillary that has been on the campaign trail for the last 18 months or so.  I have seen her speak in person at least 12 times, plus too many to count on TV and NEVER have I seen her so comfortable in a speech.  She always had a habit when she was trying to express enthusiasm or make a vocal point that her voice starting going shrill.  It was a turn off to the ears (always made me cringe, kind of like when W gets that hald smile and you KNOW he is going off script... the only difference being I actually LIKE AND RESPECT Hillary) and distracted from the point.  In my experiences watching her, she is ALWAYS much better when she is just speaking and NOT in campaign mode.  The first time I saw her was in 1996 and campaigning for Bill.. She was calm and relaxed and gave a great speech.  Seeing her in situations where she wasn't the candidate and wasn't in an election year were always a pleasure.  The Hillary I saw run for Senate in 2000 sounded VASTLY different speaking than the one I saw in 1996.

The reason this speech resonated with A LOT more people was that it is the first time in a long time she seemed to be very comfortable in giving it.  There was an emotion and passion that most people didn't see as much during this election... I only remember seeing it a handful of times from her in the speeches I watched her giving online or on TV.  I'm guessing a lot of it has to do with the stress of the election being over.  Knowing one way or the other is always better than NOT knowing.  

She gave a heck of a speech.  It reminds me of Gore in 2000.  His best speech was his last one.  SInce then he has always been a man more comfortable in his own skin.  That's why I think he'd be a much better candidate now than he was then.
Same with Hillary.  If she runs again in the future, she will be a much better and formidible opponent.

Yeah because Hillary supporters were NEVER insulting toward Obama or his supporters.  Face it, both sides were equally guilty.  And the ONLY thing the DNC had to do with it was when they stupidly removed 100% of FL and MI's delegates... something Hillary's advisor Ickes and several of her supporters voted for in the first place.  

Todd,

Thanks for putting in words what I had felt.  One of the reasons I admire Hillary so much is that the democrats (even those democrats who dislike or hate her) may have different opinions about her, but from the very beginning almost [b]everyone of them - even some of the most fervent BO supporters here on mydd[/b] had always been certain that she would work just as hard on the issues that are important to her no matter what became the result of this primary. To me, this says most about her character, her commitment to this country and to the causes she believes in. I cannot say how proud I am as a HRC supporter.

I don't think she should have given this speech on Tuesday. After a race like this, the very least she deserved was one last, solid victory speech. And it was a good one. I could have done with out the "we won the popular vote" bullshit but, like I said, she earned it.

Hillary Clinton could not have given this speech last Tuesday.

First, how could she ask people to vote for her on Tuesday during the day, when there were still primaries being held, and then that night blow off their support by withdrawing or conceding?  That point goes to all who voted for her.  It takes time for people to get used to the idea of switching allegiance, so it would have been useless for Clinton to ask her supporters on Tuesday to immediately support Obama.  

Second, it only makes sense that she'd want to have time to thank her staff and her major supporters before conceding or withdrawing.

Third, it also makes sense that before withdrawing or conceding she'd want to coordinate it with the Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign to ensure continuity of message.

Of course this speech was well received.  Clinton finally did what the "reporters" and pundits have been screeching for her to do nonstop for the last four months.  The pundit class always praises you when you do what it thinks you should.

I wasn't concerned about it was that I thought her concession and endorsement of Barack Obama, when it finally did come as I trusted it would, deserved to be a standalone historic moment

.....at the time Hillary was still gnawing the ends of her old plots.

Obama loses in November (nightmare, I know- but hear me out).  The entire Democratic Party  will rally around Hillary Clinton and she will become the new party leader (unofficially).  Howard Dean will be blamed for the FLA/ MICHIGAN debacle- and the damage that it caused the party (i.e. denying Hillary Clinton the nomination- disenfranchising voters). Obama will be blamed for not "connecting" with the Clinton Dems and for not adding her to the ticket.  Oh, and for not contesting all of the voting problems in Ohio.  Hillary will have stumped endlessly for Obama the entire fall- so she will be blameless.  She will begin her 2012 Presidential Campaign  on Nov. 5, 2008.  Let's hope she has a better staff this time!
Do I think this scenario will come true?  No.  I give it a 35% chance based on today's climate.  I do believe that we are in SERIOUSLY fragile waters, though, and that everything that can possibly be done to secure this election should be done. That includes picking Clinton as VP.  Obama may not like it- but no one else can assure him the victory.  Obama/Clinton '08? Unstoppable.  They bring to the table a HUGE coalition- AA, women, seniors, Latinos, young voters, working class, college educated, liberal, moderate, ON AND ON.  Sorry- I don't see how we can avoid the realities of this necessity.  The simple CHANCE that Obama will lose any Clinton voters is enough, in my opinion, to DEMAND that she be added to the ticket.  The risks are just too great.

as if the Rules and Bylaws committee did not have a majority of Clinton supporters on it as the time that it voted to strip MI and FL of their delegates.

when will you all admit that Hillary's own supporters are the ones who fucked that up? Not just her supporters in the RBC, bur also her supporters in MI and FL who pushed for or went along with the moved primary dates?

and yes, the FL republicans pushed the primary date up, but then the DNC offered FL several options to get back into compliance, and the state of FL never applied for a waiver that could have given the DNC a formal process by which to make their primary valid again.

The process was flawed, but there were more Hillary supporters involved in making it flawed than there were Obama supporters.

I want to say thanks.