Bill Clinton praises Hillary as 'the best darn change-maker I have ever known'


After a video touting the successes of his own presidency, former President Bill Clinton took the stage at Tuesday's Democratic National Convention to tell America why it should elect his wife, Hillary Clinton. Much of Bill's long speech was a mixture of personal anecdotes, gushing praise, and résumé recitation, and he began with the personal: "In the spring of 1971, I met a girl."
Bill said that he was immediately impressed with Hillary's "strength and self-possession." When she finally approached him in the Yale Law Library to demand why he had been staring at her, Bill said that, while it may shock people today, "momentarily, I was speechless." He said that a few weeks later, he asked Hillary on a walk, and "we've been walking, and talking, and laughing together ever since."
Before Hillary finally agreed to marry him — on his third proposal, after he bought a house she once admired — "Hillary opened my eyes to a whole new world of public service by private citizens," citing her work on school desegregation for the Children's Defense Fund, registering Latino voters in South Texas, fighting to get black teenagers out of prison in South Carolina, and helping getting rights for handicapped students in Massachusetts, among other things.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bill said that once he and Hillary had Chelsea in 1980, Hillary spent the next 17 years as mother, but before and after Chelsea's childhood, she excelled at every job he gave her. He called Hillary "the best darn change-maker I have met in my whole entire life."
Then Bill asked, "How does this square with what you heard at the Republican convention?" It doesn't, he answered. "One is real, the other is made up." If you're Team Trump, "your real option is to create a cartoon," then run against that two-dimensional caricature. "Good for you, because earlier today, you nominated the real one," Bill told the delegates, and the convention erupted in cheers.
He tried hard to improve people's lives during his presidency, Bill said, but "for this time, Hillary is uniquely qualified." And he repeated his earlier line:
Clinton ended by saying that he hopes America elects Hillary, and "your children and grandchildren will bless you if you do."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants