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How Did Obama Do?

It was a make-or-break moment for the president as he closed out the DNC. Daily Beast contributors weigh in on the big speech and more.

Swept Away in Charlotte

The media are gushing over Bill Clinton after being mesmerized by Michelle Obama. Howard Kurtz on whether the pundits are going soft on the Democrats.
AP Photo / Getty Images

It was the ’90s all over again: the media all but swooning over Bill Clinton as he was shaking and baking and rocking and rolling, with some carping about his self-indulgent ways but sheer gratitude that he is such colorful copy.

Best Convention in...

On Morning Joe, they've been saying all morning that this is one of best conventions they've ever seen. They just asked Barney Frank. He pointed to 1992. Joe Scarborough said earlier, representing the other sdie, 1980.

What to Read for the Election

Coverage of the campaign might be increasingly shallow and confusing, but there are classics of political analysis and reportage that readers can turn to for clarity and insight. From Cicero to David Foster Wallace, David Masciotra picks 10 of the best.

As the race pitting President Obama against Mitt Romney officially begins, campaign coverage gains superficiality and confusion. The entertainment extravaganzas of the respective party conventions now include a film star having an incoherent conversation with an empty chair.

5 Things to Watch at the DNC on Thursday

From the president himself to Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, here’s what’s worth tuning in for on the third day of the Democratic National Convention.
Getty Images (3) ; Getty Images for The Elton John AIDS Foundation ; AFP / Getty Images

1.  Gov. Charlie CristThe former governor of Florida who turned his back on the Republican Party to become an independent will speak Thursday night. An Obama campaign official said earlier this week that Crist will speak about efforts to unite the country.

Clinton Socks GOP In Its Glass Jaw

Alex Wong/Getty Images

In the arena in Charlotte, former president Clinton detonated the H-bomb of the 2012 campaign: the Medicaid issue.Republicans have promised to hold harmless from Medicare changes everyone under age 55, assuring high-voting senior citizens that they have nothing to fear from Republican budget plans.

Liberals and Lawyers

Democrats paint their party as the champion of the working class and the downtrodden, but in fact their ranks are packed with lawyers who love nothing better than legislating endless rules and regulations, writes Michael Medved.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The Democrats gathering in Charlotte would love to cast themselves as the party of working people, or of struggling middle-class families, or of aggrieved and downtrodden Americans in every corner of the economy. In presidential politics, however, a more accurate designation would identify the Dems as the party of lawyers: with the re-nomination of Obama and Biden, all six available spots on the last three national tickets have gone to working attorneys.

What Bill Got Right

Clinton is not known for great speeches. But he didn’t disappoint. Ex-Bush aide Matt Latimer on how Clinton’s substantive arguments blew Romney’s cotton-candy slogans away.
Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Remember George W. Bush? You might not if you watched last week’s GOP convention. The country’s last Republican president, elected to two terms in office and still popular enough in some parts of the country to produce a massive best-selling memoir, was mentioned about as often as Mad Cow Disease.

The Rise and Rise of Bill and Hill

Bill Clinton is older and frailer now, but his stunning speech in support of Obama—and the rapturous reception it received—shows he remains a charismatic and revered figure who, along with Hillary Clinton, rises ever higher in public standing and regard.
Getty Images (2)

Many Americans who watched Bill Clinton’s bravura performance tonight may have been surprised to see the formerly soaring president has lost height and shrunk in heft. I am not the only one who has noticed that, in person, the 66-year-old Clinton looks almost frail.

Obama Needs an Agenda

The president won’t win over undecided voters with a speech of lofty phrases and rebuttals to Romney. Instead he should detail bipartisan proposals for policies we can look forward to in a second Obama term, says John Avlon.
J.D. Pooley / Getty Images

President Obama’s blessing is his curse—a soaring speech won’t be good enough Thursday night.Call it the Obama discount or just a credibility gap, but words are cheap where this POTUS is concerned. That’s why he needs to get serious about policy and set forward a clear, distinct second-term agenda in his nomination speech.

Striking Photos of the DNC

With the Democratic convention under way, photographer Charles Ommanney gives us an inside look at the festivities in Charlotte. From Rahm rallying the faithful to the diverse crowd on the convention floor, see the best shots.
Charles Ommanney for Newsweek

From Rahm rallying the faithful to the diverse crowd, Charles Ommanney’s inside look at the convention.

Ashley Judd: Why I’m for Obama

Ashley Judd, a major presence at the Democratic National Convention, sounds off in an exclusive interview about the Republican war on women’s bodies, her impression of Obama’s first four years in office, Clint Eastwood, running for Senate, and more.
Kris Connor / Getty Images

Renowned film and television actress Ashley Judd, 44, is experiencing an impressive second act as a political activist and humanitarian. In 2010, she received a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F.

Clinton Totally Kills It

Holy smokes. That was the best political speech more or less ever. There wasn’t a thing he didn’t touch on, and there wasn’t a thing he didn’t just blast out of the park. His carriage and delivery nailed it for partisans and for persuadables.

Bill Clinton’s Full Speech

The ex-president killed it on stage at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night. Read his prepared statements here—of course, these don’t include his many ad-libbed moments!
Stan Honda / Getty Images

We’re here to nominate a President, and I’ve got one in mind.I want to nominate a man whose own life has known its fair share of adversity and uncertainty. A man who ran for President to change the course of an already weak economy and then just six weeks before the election, saw it suffer the biggest collapse since the Great Depression.

Bill’s Brilliant Turn

The ex-president charmed the crowd in Charlotte by directly hitting the GOP’s talking points one by one. The Daily Beast rounds up the best parts from his speech.
Alex Wong / Getty Images

No one hypnotizes a crowd like the 42nd president. Bill Clinton took the stage at the Democratic National Convention to thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations. Discarding the prompters, in typical Clintonian fashion, the former president made a spectacular case for Barack Obama’s re-election to fervent followers at the Convention.

The Star Limbaugh Made

He called her a slut. Sandra Fluke showed him—taking the stage in Charlotte and electrifying the crowd with her sharp jabs at the GOP. Michelle Cottle on the Democrats’ new standout.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP

One of the surprise stars of Wednesday night was brought to us by none other than Rush Limbaugh.Sandra Fluke, the recent Georgetown Law School grad and liberal activist, rocketed to fame this year when her advocacy on behalf of requiring insurers to cover birth control prompted Limbaugh to call her a slut.

What Do You Think?

Take our DNC poll: DNC2012

'I'm Hopeful Because of You'

'I never said this journey would be easy,' the president told Americans Thursday, 'and I won't promise that now.' But the hope that drove him into office in 2008 remains, he said; he still believes in Americans' ability to 'pull each other up' and travel the hard road to economic recovery together.

  1. Meghan McCain Slams Charlie Crist Play

    Meghan McCain Slams Charlie Crist

  2. Clinton Nominates Obama Play

    Clinton Nominates Obama

  3. Jimmy Fallon or Julian Castro? Play

    Jimmy Fallon or Julian Castro?

Watch This

Beast TV at the DNC!

Best of Beast TV at the DNC

Best of Beast TV at the DNC

From Darrell Hammond’s Clinton impression to Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Jerusalem, see the best moments.

The Other Guys

All About the RNC

The Block-and-Blame Game

The Block-and-Blame Game

The RNC says it’s Obama’s fault the gun bill didn’t pass. By John Avlon.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

J.C. Watts Drops Bombs

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Poll: Yes, We’re Better Off

THE REAL EASTWOOD

Leave Clint Alone!

MISSED CHANCE

Ann’s Big Boo Boo