SPEECH 3

Bill Clinton – Democratic Convention Speech, August 2008

CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen...

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. You all sit down. We've got to get on with
the show here. Come on.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to be here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

Sit down.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

I am honored to be here tonight. Please, stop.

AUDIENCE: Bill! Bill! Bill!

CLINTON: Please stop. Sit down. Sit down. Thank you.

AUDIENCE: Bill! Bill! Bill!

CLINTON: Please sit. Please sit.

You know, I -- I love this, and I thank you, but we have important work to do tonight. I am here
first to support Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

And, second -- and, second, I'm here to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden...

(APPLAUSE)

... though, as you will soon see, he doesn't need any help from me.

(LAUGHTER)

I love Joe Biden, and America will, too.

What a year we Democrats have had. The primary began with an all-star line up. And it came down to
two remarkable Americans locked in a hard-fought contest right to the very end. That campaign
generated so much heat, it increased global warming.

(LAUGHTER)

Now, in the end, my candidate didn't win. But I'm really proud of the campaign she ran.

(APPLAUSE)

I am proud that she never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on
the future she wanted for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to go
all over America to tell people about the person we know and love.

Now, I am not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of Hillary's magnificent speech last
night.

(LAUGHTER)

But I'll do the best I can.

(APPLAUSE)

Last night, Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she is going to do everything she can to
elect Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

That makes two of us.

(APPLAUSE)

Actually, that makes 18 million of us...

(APPLAUSE)

... because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in
November.

(APPLAUSE)

And here's why. And I have the privilege of speaking here, thanks to you, from a perspective that
no other American Democrat, except President Carter, can offer.

Our -- our nation is in trouble on two fronts. The American dream is under siege at home, and
America's leadership in the world has been weakened. Middle-class and low-income Americans are
hurting, with incomes declining, job losses, poverty, and inequality rising, mortgage foreclosures
and credit card debt increasing, health care coverage disappearing, and a very big spike in the
cost of food, utilities, and gasoline.

And our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little
cooperation...

(APPLAUSE)

... by a perilous dependence on imported oil, by a refusal to lead on global warming, by a growing
indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders, by a severely burdened military, by a backsliding
on global nonproliferation and arms control agreements, and by a failure to consistently use the
power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.

(APPLAUSE)

Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and to restore American
leadership in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

And here's what I have to say about that. Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and
in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama
is the man for this job.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, he has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high
purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful president needs. His policies on
the economy, on taxes, on health care, on energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives.

(APPLAUSE)

He has shown -- he has shown a clear grasp of foreign policy and national security challenges and a
firm commitment to rebuild our badly strained military.

His family heritage and his life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our
increasingly diverse nation in an ever more interdependent world.


QUESTIONS:

1. Which part do you think is the best part of the speech? Why?

2. Is it a convincing speech? Why yes? Why no?

3. What presentation techniques have been used in this speech? Give examples.

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