What was it like to watch Bill Clinton's speech at the 2016 convention? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answer by Maya Bodnick, who attended the 2016 Democratic National Convention, on Quora:
As a middle schooler watching Bill Clinton, one of the world's best speakers ever, speak live for the first time, I was honestly blown away. In both content and delivery, he nailed it. He set the tone for the rest of his speech by welcoming the audience with his authenticity. His Southern accent and colloquial rhetoric made me feel like he was a normal person as opposed to an isolated, distant political figure - ironically very different from when Hillary speaks. Bill spoke like he was telling me a story, yet making a point. It really felt like he was talking to just me, and not to a crowd of tens of thousands. There was never a point in the speech that was condescending even though he knows more about the presidency than almost anyone else. He clearly knew his speech inside and out, never stumbling and exerting an aura of control and confidence.
Bill Clinton's speech obviously intended, first and foremost, to convince every single person in the audience that his wife would be an amazing president. He humanized Hillary from the insider-politician we have considered her to be for so long with nostalgic tales of their life together, and brought up Hillary's vast experience and influence, her kindness and determined goodwill. Most importantly, Bill gave us a firm reminder of just how much better a Clinton administration would be than a Trump one.
Before Bill spoke, I very strongly preferred Hillary over Trump, but I honestly wasn't that happy with her as our future president for reasons I won't get into now. I'm pretty set in my views, but honestly Bill Clinton's speech almost completely sold me on Hillary. While I still have my issues with her, I now truly feel content with having Hillary Clinton as our next president.