So, Senator Hillary Clinton says in a video that her supporters need a catharsis at the Democratic convention
. and presto! Bill Clinton finally gets his speaking role.
Anyone think there was a connection between Mrs. Clintons mild musings of disruptive action at the convention and the sudden appearance of a speaking slot for Bill?
Maybe not. But a role for Bill is surely part of what Hillary has wanted.
Senator Barack Obamas camp says that the discussions with the Clintons have been in the works for a while. But Mrs. Clintons video remarks, in which she also suggested that her delegates might take matters into their own hands at the convention, surely helped spur those discussions to a more rapid conclusion. So did the endless replay of an ABC video in which Mr. Clinton questioned Mr. Obamas qualifications to be president.
The Obama camp can only hope that those two videos will now be bumped out of the cable rotation. Giving Mr. Clinton a speaking slot, on Wednesday night, gives the media a whole new narrative to chase: When will Mr. Clinton speak? Will he introduce someone? Will he stay within his allotted speaking time? More importantly, what will he say? Will he insist, yet again, that he did not use racial politics during the primaries? The convention is probably neither the time nor the place for that discussion, but you know its on his mind.
Mrs. Clinton is speaking Tuesday night. But her full role remains unclear. And what will her supporters do? Will she encourage them to include her in the roll call or will she try to tamp them down?
Whatever the details, we now have the potential for Mr. Obamas convention to be distracted if not dominated by the Clintons for two nights in a row.
Yes, Mr. Clinton will be speaking the same night as Mr. Obamas newly minted running mate. Presumably the theatrics of the evening will be designed to showcase the new veep and amplify his message in the service of the presidential nominee. But with the Clintons instinct for drama, you never know. Was part of the deal with Mr. Clinton that he keep a lid on himself?
A person close to the Clintons said that Mrs. Clinton has been negotiating not only for herself but for her husband. For one thing, he has seemed too far out of the Obama orbit to do it for himself.
For another, Mrs. Clinton is the Clinton with leverage. Shes still got hundreds of delegates who want to vote for her. In the video of her talking about the catharsis that her supporters need, she says over and over again that she wants a strategy for allowing them to vent and be validated.
Some of her delegates are in the process of gathering the 300 signatures that they would need to get Mrs. Clintons name on the ballot. But that could happen only if Mrs. Clinton approves it, in writing. That part of any strategy with Mr. Obama has yet to be worked out.
Even with such matters still on the table and as she tries to salve the wounds of her supporters
