Hillary Clinton finally found the message she was looking for

At the Democratic convention, Hillary Clinton managed to tell a compelling story about America that places her right where she wants to be

Hillary's next steps.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Someone who has been a national figure for a quarter of a century may not be able to redefine herself in the course of a single speech, no matter how long it lasts and how many people are watching. But what she might be able to do is change the frame you see her through, change the context that surrounds her and the job she's seeking. If it's possible, then Hillary Clinton might have accomplished it Thursday night.

She did it not with anything entirely new, but with a relentless reinforcement of the central theme of her campaign, "Stronger Together." While it was criticized as a slogan with no punch (not to mention being the third or fourth her campaign had tried out), by the end of the Democratic convention it has actually come to be imbued with depth, meaning, and even emotion. And perhaps most strikingly, it moves Hillary Clinton a step or two back, even at the moment when all the spotlights and cameras are on her and her alone.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.