Reunited!

It was very difficult to imagine that after a high stakes democratic primary season between two very formidable candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton that the Democratic Party could put its differences aside and reunite. Because the battle for the party’s nomination was so long and so intense, it was unclear as to what party unity would look like and who would be better at delivering it.

Yes it meant that whoever did not get the nomination, in this case Hillary Clinton, would have some heavy lifting to do, uniting a party that has just denied her the historic opportunity to serve as the first female nominee for the President of the United States. She would have to support Barack Obama with a smile, knowing that every word, spoken or not, would be analyzed and poured over for any signs of left over bitterness, discontentment, and outright phoniness.

But this was not her burden to carry alone. In fact it would be her husband’s responsibility to shoulder most of it. Why? Because despite of, or perhaps because of, the unsuccessful political coupe d’état orchestrated by the Republican Party to expel him from office, Bill Clinton’s popularity amongst the base was solid, making him the man for the job. While Hillary was merely a candidate, Bill Clinton had already been the two term president vetted and trusted by his base. It was his words and actions that were scrutinized by the pundits and the Democrats, as in this example by Chris Rock:

Getting over it is not that easy. Bill Clinton is to be totally commended for his efforts to unite the party once again. Not only did he preside over a failed attempt to get his candidate and wife nominated, but he also had to endure the process of watching his revamped and polished legacy take another bruising, this time by members of his own party. Although he was affectionately referred to as the “first black president” for all that he had done to support African Americans, the first sitting US president to visit Africa, and whose Clinton Global Initiative dedicates so much attention and aid to poor African nations, he was accused of race baiting when commenting about the South Carolina primary.

I don’t think that the Obama camp for one moment believed that someone of Bill Clinton’s stature and impressive track record for supporting blacks is now a closeted bigot. But the risk of coming to his rescue over something he poorly articulated was that they would loose an advantage over a tough opponent in Hillary Clinton. Similarly when Obama made the major speech on race in America, we all waited to see if Hillary would commend him on a brilliant speech that spoke to a matter much deeper than politics, but she too did not let up out of fear of looking conciliatory to her opponent in such a close race.

There is no doubt that an Obama administration would have the Clintons to thank for a White House victory. And regardless of which Democratic candidate you supported, or even how much you objected to the way they ran Hillary’s campaign, you can also thank the Clintons for a unifying the party.