Clinton Passes the Torch— or Does He?

Pundits are raving over Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic Convention last night. Here’s what they’re saying:

• Mark Halperin of Time gives Clinton an A+ for a speech seemingly untouched by primary bitterness. “Let's face it: while Obama is a marvelous speaker, Clinton is better,” he writes.
• The LA Times’ Don Frederick agrees, saying Obama ought to hire Clinton as a writer and speech coach. Clinton seemingly effortlessly hit the themes Obama has struggled to articulate.

• John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail sees Clinton’s speech as a swan song, a beautiful, if unwilling, passing of the torch. “With this emphatic endorsement, Mr. Clinton surrendered leadership of the party,” he writes. “It must have hurt.”
• But the National Review’s Mark Hemmingway begs to differ, declaring the speech not a genuine Obama endorsement but merely “a rousing partisan screed” with an obvious eye to 2012.