Hillary Scores

What is it about near-misses and great speeches?

That was the best speech I've ever seen Hillary Clinton give. Sure, there were cliches and some fluff, but it was forceful and got the job done. Obama's probably in better shape now than he was before she stepped to the mike, and that's really all the nervous Nellies in the party could hope for.

I suppose it could have been too good, and it will make her folks even more bitter. Maybe her subliminal pantsuit message was "Orange you dumb for not nominating me."

But what is it about losing that brings out a great speaker?

I think Al Gore's best speech of the 2000 campaign may have been his concession speech at the end of the Florida recount nightmare. And last night we heard a reprise of Ted Kennedy's famous 1980 convention speech, which came after his bitter loss to Jimmy Carter.

 Loss is freeing , perhaps, although there was plenty of pressure on Clinton tonight. And she was remarkably generous in her praise of Obama.

One thing Obama's got going for him is he can deliver a great speech when the pressure of victory is on. We'll see Thursday night. His wife Michelle and Clinton set a pretty high bar.