"She did it"

Day 2 was much like Day 1. I went from event to event -- some boring, some impossible to get into, some thrilling -- but mostly I spent the day waiting for the night. Late in the afternoon, I went to the Illinois delegate party, hosted by Mayor Daley. There were aldermen, state senators and the first appearance by the disgraced governor. Michelle Obama was there, too.

Following the event, and after failing to get a credential to be on the floor for Clinton's speech, I went back to a hotel to watch with a crowd. Judging from the few comments I've heard by the talking heads, the speech was as well received nationally as it was in the hotel lobby.

People were talking loudly during Warner's and Schweitzer's speeches -- which was too bad because from what I could hear, they were nearly as impressive as Clinton -- but when Chelsea took the microphone the noise stopped. From the first words, it was clear what the speech was going to do -- halt, at least until Bill talks tonight, the sense that the Clintons aren't on board. She ran off a list of things she was proud to be -- a mother, a Senator from New York -- and crescendoed to set the stage for the rest of the speech -- "And I am proud to support Barack Obama as president of the United States." She hit every note. And when she finished, the table next to me hollered, "She did it."

I've heard a few pundits say she was setting herself up for 2012 and the Republican talking point is that she didn't sell Obama as a candidate. The skepticism and criticism was inevitable. The golden rule in political coverage seems to be that the Clintons never do enough. The psycho-babble will only increase tonight. But there was no doubt in my mind that she is on board.