Hillary Clinton: It's 'Our Mission' to Elect Barack Obama

DENVER—She left no question. There was no couching. No B.S.

After days of rabid speculation about how far Hillary Clinton would go tonight in expressing support for Barack Obama—the kind of language she would use, the subtle messages she might send to her ardent and still-grieving supporters—the former First Lady couldn't have been clearer.

Clinton called on Democrats to unite as one party behind White House nominee Barack Obama.

Sen. Hillary Clinton with her daughter Chelsea at the DNC.

Seconds into her speech, the woman who once appeared on a glide path to becoming the nation's first female president, said flatly that she is a "proud supporter of Barack Obama." And she continued for 23 minutes in the same manner, rousing the crowd to its feet, taking on expected GOP nominee John McCain, and challenging her supporters to embark on "our mission" to elect Obama.

She joked about her attire, referring to her sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits, paid homage to her husband's administration, and hit McCain with the party line. "It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities," she said, "because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

A video introduction narrated by her daughter, Chelsea, hinted at what's to come. With the rock song "You Really Got Me" blaring, scenes flashed of Clinton on Saturday Night Live, her laugh being mocked by dress-alike Amy Poehler, of friends and family joking about her lack of singing ability ("You don't want her to sing—ever," one said), and of her life with her mom, her daughter, and her husband.

Her speech betrayed no outward trace of disappointment or bitterness, just a no-holds barred call for party unity. And with the crowd pumping signs printed alternately with "Unity," "Obama," and "Hillary," for the first time this week there was a sense in the Pepsi Center that it may be possible for these Democrats to leave Denver with a rift on its way to healing.

In one of her most powerful passages, Clinton posed a question to her supporters: "Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage?"

That's a question some supporters will have to ask themselves. And some may answer that it was all about Clinton. But Clinton made it clear tonight that she believes that that's wrong answer.

Now, all are waiting to hear what her husband has to say tomorrow night. Though the Clintons have always been a unified political team, so it's likely her speech tonight provided valuable clues of what to expect.