Last night Hillary Clinton had one singular objective: tell her recalcitrant supporters to accept her defeat in the Democratic primary and support Barack Obama in November. From that perspective, it's hard to judge her speech as anything but a rollicking success.

To be sure, I don't see any long, soulful walks on the beach or late night gab sessions over beers in their future. They are, and remain, political rivals and as the saying goes, politics ain't bean bag.

It was in this vein that Hillary Clinton delivered her remarks last night, eschewing a more effusive personal endorsement or even a no-holds barred attack on John McCain and instead offering her supporters a more interest-based rationale for supporting Obama. 'You may not like this guy,' she seemed to be suggesting, but 'if you share my values and my concerns then you need to hold your nose and vote for him. '

On the surface, this may not seem like the most generous or warmest endorsements of Obama but it is the smartest. It's the sort of pragmatic approach to politics that Democrats have at times avoided; preferring instead to be right than making sure they do what has to be done to win. Last night Hillary Clinton took the most direct approach to satisfying her supporters, by reminding them that the alternative to Obama is to deny the whole rationale for her campaign. As she plaintively told the audience, "Were you in this campaign just for me?"

Nonetheless, some pundits are complaining that Hillary did not make the 'leadership" argument for Obama; she didn't argue persuasively enough that Obama is ready to be President. But that wasn't really her job. Instead that responsibility will fall squarely on her husband, former President Clinton.
There is no better figure to vouch for Obama's preparedness as Commander in Chief than the last Democrat to hold the office. For all of Clinton's shenanigans and ill-advised statements during the primaries he is still revered among Democrats and his Presidency, if not the man, is viewed in largely favorable terms by the electorate. He has a unique credibility and opportunity to make an affirmative case for Barack Obama and, if you will, pass the baton of presidential leadership from one Democratic president to potentially another.
In addition, to making a symbolic case for Obama, President Clinton will have a unique opportunity to lay out the differences in the approaches of the two parties, particularly when it comes to the economy and foreign policy.
Last night, Hillary Clinton reminded the convention that under the Clinton years, the country had it pretty good. I expect that we'll be hearing more of that message tonight from Bill, who not surprisingly loves to talk about the 22 million jobs and peace and prosperity of his Administration. Offering hope to the American people that an Obama Administration can offer the same potential and reminding the country how the Bush Administration mishandled a record budget surplus and a thriving economy will provide a powerful and effective contrast.
One of the key goals of this convention for Democrats is not only to tell the American people that they have a plan for the country, but that they actually know how to implement it, i.e. that they have a plan for governing the country. Comparing the past performance of Democrats with the poor performance of Republicans over the past eight years will be an effective means of making this critically important point.
Of course, tonight's speech from President Clinton - and last night's from Hillary -will not be without irony. After spending more than a year trying to defeat Obama the Clintons are poised to become two of his greatest assets in the general election to come.