Binside TV: HILLARY CLINTON DNC CONVENTION SPEECH 2008 "WE HAVE TO ELECT BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT"

Senator Hillary Clinton formally withdrew from the Democratic race for president. However,many people in the Democratic Party weren't sure how Hillary was going to handle her speech at the Democratic Convention. There were rumblings that Hillary was going to hold on to her pledged delegates after her bitter battle for the White House ended with a victory for her rival Barack Obama. Hillary did mention her run for president during her speech and seems as though she is preparing to run again in the next election. Watch Hillary Clinton's speech if you missed it. Here are some reaction to Hillary Clinton's speech.

Hillary Clinton DNC 2008 speech part 2

Ben Smith: "Hillary's speech -- a success in the hall -- was a study in the virtue of low expectations."

Nick Gillespie: "I'd say that Sen. Clinton has had the best performance so far, by a wide margin, both in terms of attacking John McCain and the Republicans head-on and defining a nauseatingly comprehensive set of plans for raising taxes, getting mad at companies for 'shipping job overseas,' and pushing universal health care (or more accurately, even more expensive and less effective health care)."

Andrew Sullivan: "She started out a little dull and a little self-obsessed. But then she rallied -- a little. 'No Way. No How. No McCain' was a good line. And the Twin Cities analogy was a great little riff on Bush and McCain. But I have to say her speaking style, although much improved over even a year ago, is still a little flat. When she's passionate, she has little inflection. When she's quieter, she's a little drony. The 'keep going' theme, moreover, was a little unnerving. A thinly veiled threat?"

Craig Crawford: "Stunning. Hillary Rodham Clinton's convention speech on Tuesday was so NOT what Barack Obama needed." source

Hillary Clinton DNC 2008 speech part 3

It was the night the Democratic Party was looking forward to ... and dreading.

As some of the pledged delegates for New York Senator Hillary Clinton vocally expressed support for their candidate of choice during her prime-time speech Tuesday night (August 26) at the Democratic National Convention, others worried that the divisions between the Clinton camp and that of presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama could send a message of disunity at a time when the party was trying to put on its most unified face for the world.

"Whether you voted for me, or you voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," said Senator Clinton during her rousing speech, during which the floor of the convention center was a sea of signs that said either "Hillary" or "Obama" on one side and "Unity" on the other. "We are on the same team, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win together.

"We were all very interested to see her reasons for supporting Barack Obama, and so I think it's very clear tonight that she was a strong messenger that we have to change our country and that it's OK, even though we supported Hillary Clinton in the past, to unite behind Barack Obama," said Hector Balderas, 34, an elected Clinton delegate who serves as the state auditor for New Mexico and is the youngest Hispanic statewide elected official in the country.

Speaking outside the Pepsi Center just after the Clinton address, Balderas was joined by Conor Kennedy, 14, son of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose family, like Balderas', faced some internal squabbling over which Democratic candidate they were going to back in this election.

"Even though I can't vote, I'm trying my best to support Obama and get the word out about how great he is and what an inspiration he's going to be," said the preternaturally on-message Kennedy, who was wearing a dark blue suit, red tie and Vans. "I've met a lot of women who switched from Hillary to McCain just because they were upset, so I think it's really, really important that she came here. It's a great thing. ... She had everyone on their feet clapping for her. It was an inspiring speech, and I think that it spoke to everyone."

After the bitterly contested primary, Clinton unequivocally threw her support behind Obama on Tuesday night, even if, as Balderas noted, there was a bit of a scramble and some grumbling among members of the delegation over which of the unity signs to take during the speech. Free of the bitterness that marked the campaign, Clinton called herself a "proud supporter of Barack Obama" during the 23-minute address and repeatedly stressed the importance of those who supported her lining up behind Obama to defeat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. source