Former President Bill Clinton will speak at the Democratic Convention tonight at 9PM EDT. The media buzz today is split between what Bill will say tonight and Hillary’s electrifying speech last night. Hillary proved once again why she should be the party nominee above and beyond the fact she won 18 million votes, more votes than Obama and only a handful of delegates separate them. It was a great speech and she did what she needed to do for the party. In case you missed it, you can catch her speech here.

I will follow Hillary, but I stop dead in my tracks at supporting Obama. I’ve been reflecting on this campaign, on Hillary, and on her ground breaking candidacy. I truly believe that not only did she stir something deep within her supporters, she brought hope, real tangible hope. When Hillary said that she was “in it to win it,” I knew she meant it. I activated. She would have won back the White House. We all know it.

I wish I could support Obama as the party nominee. I’ve supported every nominee since 1988. I wish I could celebrate his historic candidacy. But I cannot. He didn’t earn it. He is still virtually unvetted; he has lied to the American people about himself and where he stands on the issues. He won caucuses by cheating. He is a fraud who was carried on the media’s shoulders and the DNC selected him.

Hillary went through her trial by fire and emerged a blazing victor without the spoils of the victory. This great lady in a blazing orange pant suit, showing the whole world what it means to be a gracious and graceful victor who must hand the victory to someone less deserving.

She is a better woman than I’ll ever hope to be. That’s what I want in my President. Someone who understands our struggles, but can rise above it with grace and fortitude and lead us into a better tomorrow.

The ever awesome, Anglachel, has a great post analyzing Hillary’s speech, Duty, Unity and Transcendence, which explains the significance far better than I could that:

Her speech was a work of brilliance…It was, first and foremost, a speech about politics. It had plenty of “human interest” and even humor in it. We most certainly got a look into the mind and heart of this woman. But what it was, from the first line to the last, was a full-force evocation of what it means to be a Democrat. In a season where we have been bombarded by bipartisan, everybody let’s hug, don’t say anything bad about the Republicans, don’t be partisan be Obamacan, Unity Ponies for everyone balderdash, Hillary took the party by the scruff of its dithering neck and made it look at the reason we are a party in the first place.

The invocations of all of her identities became the warp into which she wove the woof of policy, belief, and acts, creating a mantle - Democrat. I am a Democrat for these reasons - these reasons are why I must call myself a Democrat. She was unapologetically partisan in every sentence. She explained, with the examples from her campaign, why she is driven to serve. She gave notice that for her this is a duty and that the hatred heaped upon her has no effect.

Anglachel lifts the toilet lid a bit on the vitriol unleashed on HRC:

Evidently Chris Matthews said that there was no evidence of defeat in this speech. Why would there be? It is entirely a media narrative, helped along mightily by the pool boys of the fauxgressive blogosphere, that they were “finally rid of the Clintons.” They wanted suffering, shame, penance, begging for forgiveness and Hillary just handed them a steaming super-sized mug of shut the fuck up. As she was never a media darling, they cannot touch her - she is impervious. She walked off that stage the most powerful person in the Deomcratic Party, owning nothing to any of the power brokers because she has given it all to the Party. That is her duty, there lie her obligations, and that is what she is here to defend.

More on who really is the transcendent candidate:

Many people have talked about Obama as a “transcendent” candidate, someone who is “post-partisan,” “post-racial,” calls us to something higher, and so forth. What Hillary did on that stage tonight was demonstrate what true political transcendence looks like. Surrounded by heart-broken supporters, hateful detractors, an unflaggingly hostile media, and looking at the faces of her colleagues who have treated her in the most despicable way possible for months on end, she spoke passionately and without rancor to all of them. Her personal grace and decency were rivaled only by her political integrity and loyalty. She has transcended the brutality and cruelty visited upon her in this primary. The political ground that lies within her reach has been swept clean of any barriers, impediments or stumbling blocks.

Anglachel raises this challenge for Obama:

Obama wanted to be the Democratic nominee in the worst way possible. He got his wish. Tonight, Hillary showed him the only way out of his predicament. It is now all on Obama’s head to show he is half the Democrat she is.

This is now Obama’s election to win or lose for Democrats. Obama arrogantly asserted that he could win Hillary’s voters, but he doubted that she could win his. Obama surrogates have arrogantly asserted that they have a new coalition and can win without the old Democratic party base. Good luck trying you arrogant sh!theads.

Our PUMA friends in Denver are live blogging at these sites:

The Confluence
PUMA Pac
The Denver Group
Alegre’s Corner
Peacock’s and Lillies

The Confluence’s, Katiebird, has another great round-up from the blogs from yesterday.

No We Won’t PUMA radio is airing live from the convention with host, Sheri Tag. I’ve posted a Blog Talk Radio mini player to get show feeds right here at Red Hot & Blue. The show was late yesterday and didn’t air until after Hillary’s speech. The show tonight is scheduled for 9:00 EDT, but it might not get started until after Bill’s speech. Don’t worry if you have missed any shows. The shows are archived and can be played anytime.