Hillary praised Obama but the damage has not been undone

Hillary Clinton did what her duty compelled to do in terms of supporting Obama and attacking McCain in her speech. But it didn’t inflict lasting damage on McCain; she attacked him on the issues you would expect a Democrat to and praised Obama on the issues you would expect her to. The 3am genie she let out the bottle has not yet been put back in. There is now talk that Bill Clinton will try and do this tomorrow night but given his recent behaviour that’s hardly reassuring news if you are an Obama supporter.

The Democrats have not yet worked out how to attack McCain. The barbs aimed at him are still tentative and the speakers are noticeably more comfortable when they get to bash Bush. The Democrats urgently need to work out what their line on McCain is and ram it home. (Personally, I don’t think the privilege approach is going to work: McCain’s life experience means that that dog won’t hunt) Joe Biden’s speech tomorrow is now crucial.