Bill Clinton, boosting Harris, returns to a changed party

CHICAGO — The last time the Democratic Party gathered for a convention at the United Center, Bill Clinton accepted the nomination in 1996 for his reelection bid.

Nearly 30 years later, the former president, 78, will take the stage in the same arena Wednesday night to make the case for Vice President Harris. 

Sources familiar with the speech — his 12th consecutive address to a Democratic convention — say it will be hopeful and aspirational, on the heels of what has been a tumultuous time for the party following President Biden’s withdrawal from the race. 

These sources also said it will include fiery, newsworthy jabs aimed at former President Trump, and will highlight the qualities that make for a responsible, qualified commander in chief in the nation’s highest office. To that end, the speech is expected to highlight the striking differences in vision, experience and temperament between Harris and Trump, underscoring the vice president's story and what her candidacy means for the nation. 

The former president was still making last-minute edits to his speech Tuesday — as he typically does in big moments.

One longtime Clinton aide said the speech provides Clinton with a unique ability to reach out to swing voters in the race who voted for both Biden and Trump in the past, and who remain undecided or could choose not to vote altogether.

“He can talk about the importance of the moment like few people can,” said Jamal Simmons, who has worked for both Clinton and Harris.

Clinton and Harris have spoken a couple of times since the vice president became the Democratic presidential nominee, a source familiar with the conversations said. 

They recently crossed paths at the funeral of former Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, of Texas. And Harris has spoken to Hillary Clinton about her own experiences as the Democratic nominee. 

“They don’t have a long history, but I know they respect one another,” said one Democratic source who knows both principals.

One source pointed out that Bill and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of State who spoke from the convention stage Monday, endorsed Harris 19 minutes after Biden threw his support behind his vice president.

Throughout the process, the Clintons were opposed to the idea of an open convention and wanted to be as decisive as they could be as a party, sources familiar said. 

Apart from Simmons, a number of aides who once worked for Clinton have also worked for Harris.

Tina Flournoy, Harris’s former chief of staff, held the same role for Clinton after his presidency.  

And Harris’s current chief of staff, Lorraine Voles, served as a communications aide to Hillary Clinton. Both Harris and Clinton are also close to Minyon Moore, the prominent Democratic operative who is heading up the Democratic convention. 

“Even with a generational divide, there’s a lot more overlap than people realize,” a source said. 

Bill Clinton has remained largely out of the spotlight in recent years, spending much of his time on an upcoming book, "Citizen" — which will be published after the November election — and has been planning for the Clinton Global Initiative next month.  

Before Biden dropped out of the race, Bill Clinton headlined a fundraiser for the president alongside former President Obama. 

During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Clinton was dubbed the “explainer in chief,” focusing on economics and delivering a point-by-point explanation for why Obama should be reelected at a time when independent voters were conflicted on whether to throw their support behind him or Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

Since then, on the heels of the Me Too movement, some Democrats have said Clinton isn't aligned with the evolution of the party. This week, S.E. Cupp, the longtime conservative pundit who opposes Trump, said Democrats should “quit” the former president.  

“Hillary Clinton spoke at the DNC and it was fiery. Clearly an opportunity for her to needle at Donald Trump, the guy who beat her, and I think it played. The audience obviously loved it,” Cupp said on CNN. “But Bill Clinton speaks, and all I have to say about that is, ‘Why?’

“For a Democratic Party looking to the future, this man has not been president for more than two decades, and when he was he did things that Democrats would now revile,” Cupp said, pointing to antigay legislation such as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and welfare reform.

“I mean, Bill Clinton would be a Republican today,” Cupp added.

“But it's worse than that. It's worse. Bill Clinton's problematic,” she said, highlighting Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern at the time, and other alleged extramarital affairs. “Listen, Democrats: You can quit Bill Clinton. That's allowed. You're allowed to quit him. Isn't it time to leave him behind?”

The speech Wednesday — a day after Obama delivered his address to the convention — is expected to be very different, one source familiar with Clinton’s speech said. 

“He’s not Barack Obama,” one Democratic strategist said. “But he offers something Obama can’t provide: He has wisdom and has watched the party evolve and the players change. No one has had a better view of these changes than Bill Clinton, and his voice is more than welcome.”