News & Views

Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama weren't always best friends, but over the past four years, they've become much closer. This was strongly evidenced by the kick-booty speech the "Big Dog" gave on Wednesday night at the DNC. He didn't parse words when he gave Obama a rousing nomination that left many wishing we could elect him again!

Let's not forget that more than 20 million jobs were created during Clinton’s eight years in office, and no impeachment could take that from him. He was also, significantly, the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to get more than a single term in the White House. Now he hopes Obama repeats it.

His speech was long (45 minutes!) and sharp. He eviscerated the Republicans. Here are his 9 best lines to remember in November:

1.) When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics, but in the real world, cooperation works better. After all, nobody’s right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice a day.

2.) In Tampa, the Republican argument against the President’s re-election was pretty simple: we left him a total mess, he hasn’t cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in.

3.) You got to get one thing -- it takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did.

More from The Stir: Bill Clinton's Long, Long Speech Inspires Some Funny, Funny Jokes (VIDEO)

4.) Both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan attacked the President for allegedly robbing Medicare of 716 billion dollars. Here’s what really happened. There were no cuts to benefits. None. What the President did was save money by cutting unwarranted subsidies to providers and insurance companies that weren’t making people any healthier. He used the saving to close the donut hole in the Medicare drug program, and to add eight years to the life of the Medicare Trust Fund. It’s now solvent until 2024.

5.) When Congressman Ryan looked into the TV camera and attacked President Obama’s “biggest coldest power play” in raiding Medicare, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. You see, that 716 billion dollars is exactly the same amount of Medicare savings Congressman Ryan had in his own budget.

6.) [Romney's plan] is supposed to be a debt reduction plan, but it begins with five trillion dollars in tax cuts over a 10-year period. That makes the debt hole bigger before they even start to dig out. They say they’ll make it up by eliminating loopholes in the tax code. When you ask, “Which loopholes and how much?” they say, “See me after the election on that." 

7.) Remember, Republican economic policies quadrupled the debt before I took office and doubled it after I left. We simply can’t afford to double-down on trickle-down.

8.) If you want a you’re on your own, winner take all society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibilities -- a “we’re all in it together” society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

9.) I love our country -- and I know we’re coming back. For more than 200 years, through every crisis, we’ve always come out stronger than we went in. And we will again as long as we do it together. We champion the cause for which our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor -- to form a more perfect union.

What did you think of Clinton's speech?