A day later, Hillary Clinton's stirring endorsement of Barack Obama is still the talk of Denver. Remarkably, some in the press and some recalcitrant Clinton backers are still clinging to the idea that this is somehow a sham. She didn't go far enough, a noisy few are saying.

To which I say: What does Hillary have to do to convince you? Defeated candidates don't have the endorse the nominee -- she did. They don't have to campaign for the nominee -- she did. And then after all of that, under enormous pressure to be all things to all people, she gave an impassioned and moving speech full of grace at a pivotal time. She went above and beyond what might have been expected even of a president, let alone someone in her position. Clinton was warm, fiery, gracious, and inclusive.

And the response is, "Well she didn't say Obama was qualified to be the pope, raise the dead, and turn sewer water into fine cologne."

Senator Clinton often consults with City Pages for image advice. And I have it on good authority that she has had it with this sentiment. She's willing to go that extra mile to convince you that she really, really means it. Here are three things she is willing to do for you.

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Hillary Clinton gave the Twin Cities a shoutout in the line of the night during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

After ticking off John McCain's agenda--with a pointed reference to him not believing women deserve equal pay for equal work--Hillary used the geography of the Republican National Convention to deliver a bon mot that cemented the "McSame" meme:

"With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

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A few days ago, I wrote about how Hillary Clinton's speech tonight was pivotal. Moments after watching her speech, I think she knocked it clean out of the park.

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Mere hours after I arrived in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, John McCain came out with a new ad that began running early this morning, hitting Obama for not selecting Clinton as his running mate.

Hillary Clinton speaks here Tuesday night. This ad -- the full text of which you'll find after the jump -- is the political equivalent of a hanging curveball. If you believe, as many do, that on-the-fence Clinton supporters are a critical swing population in this election, then what she says could make a huge difference in deciding this election.

Will Hillary use this ad, "Passed Over," as a pivot point?

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I am utterly baffled by the stupidity of the top story on the Drudge Report today.

"HE NEVER VETTED HER" the headline screams under a picture of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The idea here is that if Obama was ever really considering Hillary for the veep slot, he would have gone to the trouble of vetting her.

This overlooks a very important fact: Hillary Clinton is probably the most vetted person in world history.

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The pick could be announced any moment now. It probably won't be Hillary Clinton. And for a long time, I was convinced that it shouldn't be.

Yet here's a new argument for why Hillary might just be the best VP candidate. The McCain camp have shown their hand, and it's a conservative hand. The primary worry about Clinton was that she'd fire up the Republican base in a way that McCain alone could not -- but that seems to be happening anyway.

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Like many Hillary supporters, I was distraught by the way her campaign was shredded in the news media. I was angered by her sometimes-petty political antics and downright livid that she couldn’t win the nomination.

Today, I sit at my desk pessimistic that she will not go down in history as the brilliant trailblazer she is, and rather she will be remembered as the woman who wouldn’t give up and lost.

But the political reality is that none of that matters anymore. What matters is that this is a crucial political tipping point. To Hillary supporters who want their candidate's values represented, nothing should matter more than putting the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, in office. Nowhere is this more true than on the issue of reproductive choice.

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Before they play the Super Bowl, victory merchandise is prepared for both teams. The losing team's gear is then donated to needy nations throughout the world. These rarities serve as reminders of a world that might have been.

The political example of a "New England Patriots: 2007-8 Super Bowl Champs" is this video: What if Hillary had won?

There would have been animation, for one thing. There would also have been a marvelous song and dance routine set to the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme. Without saying any more, it's worth watching until the end for the surprise.

The payoff:

Clinton will likely seek help from Obama in retiring her massive campaign debt, which has swollen to more than $30 million, including $11 million she lent the effort, advisers said Thursday.

The former first lady, who plans to bow out of the race and endorse Obama on Saturday, told donors she will raise money for Obama's campaign, both to help the Democratic Party's cash position and to expand the Illinois senator's prodigious fundraising base. Her advisers estimate the former first lady could bring in $50 million to $100 million for the general election campaign — and much more if she were named Obama's running mate.

The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Clinton hosted a conference call Thursday with her national finance committee, urging them to shift gears and begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee, which will be coordinating fundraising efforts with the Obama campaign.

Photo by Barbara Kinney, courtesy of HillaryClinton.com

It's over. Hillary Clinton is out. And this historical moment is in need of a soundtrack. Here goes...

1. Don't Give Up, Willie Nelson

It was a tough fight. Bitter too. I've got a vivid image in my mind: A table full of Clinton campaign staff are sitting around a bar-room table, slumped and staring at their hands--beers hardly touched. One of them stands up and shuffles over to the jukebox. There's the hum of the dollar being sucked into the machine. The sullen staffer presses B14 four times and just stands there, speaking the words as Willie sings them: "I was taught to fight taught to win I never thought I could fail..."

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