The Big Dog Lost Some of His Bite

You may not remember this, but four years ago Bill Clinton spoke on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. And it turned out to be the hinge of the campaign against Mitt Romney.

Clinton spoke for almost 50 minutes. I was watching the teleprompter that night, and nearly half of the speech was ad libbed. It was a cross between a political speech, a TED talk, and the best freshman econ lecture you’ve ever heard. Go back and watch it, if you can spare the time. Clinton’s roguish charm has always been lost on me—I’ve never understood how people are fooled by his transparent phoniness. But this remains one of the two or three most bravura political performances I’ve ever seen.