Clinton-Obama family feud: Denver treaty

by Mark Silva

DENVER - These conventions have a way of settling the worst family feuds.

The Clintons came to their party's convention under a cloud of suspicion: What, really, were the intentions of the former president and his wife, the senator from New York who fell short of the party's presidential nomination? Were they really here for Barack Obama, or here for themselves?

And Obama was coming to a convention supposedly divided: Could it really abide by the "audacious'' victory of the first-term senator from Illinois who defeated the party's first family?

And what would all of them have to say about that nagging suspicion that the Republican Party is attempting to plant in the minds of American voters: That Obama, plainly put, is "not ready to lead? -- "dangerously unprepared,'' as a new John McCain campaign ad claims.

"Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American Dream and restore America's standing in the world,'' former President Bill Clinton said at the podium of the convention last night.

"Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe,'' Clinton said, "has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.''

And how now the former first lady?

It's unfortunate, for the party's sake, that the most dramatic moment of the convention was not held for prime-time TV: Midway through the roll-call of the delegates that many wanted to avoid, for the sake of party unity, the Illinois delegation made a staged deferral to the New York delegation, where Sen. Clinton picked up a microphone and asked that the roll call be suspended and Obama nominated by acclamation of the convention.

"With eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity,'' Clinton called out from the floor of the convention hall, "let's declare together in one voice, right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president.''

The emotions running through this highly public reconciliation of warring factions on the day of Obama's historic nomination - even if it was only for the sake of public consumption - were causing some pause even among seasoned observers. Brian Williams, the anchor of the NBC Nightly News, was asking Michelle Obama, the nominee's wife, if she could believe that things were all playing out this way.

"I don't want too get to far ahead of myself because I think just from a sanity perspective - it's always better to be in the moment, to figure out what we have to do today, tomorrow and the next couple of days....to make sure we're doing the best job we can do,'' Michelle Obama said. "I try not to get too far ahead of myself, and that may lead me to be more of the kind of person, that if this is something that was meant to be, it will be.''