At Democratic convention, Chelsea Clinton tells Americans "who my mom is"
PHILADELPHIA -- There is perhaps no one in Hillary Clinton's life better-suited to revealing her humanity than her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, a fact the younger Clinton proved in a speech reintroducing her mother to a generation of young voters who came of age after Bill Clinton left the White House.
Chelsea Clinton talked about her mother's "wonder," her "thoughtful, hilarious" side.
"My mother can be about to give a speech or walk onstage for a debate. It doesn't matter. She'll drop everything for a few minutes of blowing kisses and reading 'Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo' with her granddaughter," Clinton said at the Democratic convention's final night, Thursday.
Clinton reminisced about her own childhood, when her mother was "always, always there for me," despite the relentless pace of her professional career.
"Every soccer and softball game. Every piano and dance recital," Clinton said. "We'd make up stories about what we'd do if we ever met a triceratops."
When Hillary Clinton traveled for work, she would leave notes to be read by her daughter, one for each day.
"When she went to France to learn about their child care system, I remember one was all about the Eiffel Tower," Chelsea Clinton said. "Another was about all the ideas she hoped to bring home to help the kids of Arkansas. I treasured each and every one. They were another reminder that I was always in her thoughts and in her heart."
But Clinton also stressed her mother's long and relentless commitment to fighting for America's children, to enable them to have access to the opportunities in this country.
"Public service is about service," she said of a life lesson learned from her mother.
One interesting moment in the speech -- Chelsea Clinton also talked about her mother's failed effort to create a universal health care system while she was first lady, and Chelsea was just 14 years old.
"I saw it up close. It was bruising. It was exhausting. She fought her heart out and as all of you know, she lost. For me, 14 years old, it was pretty tough to watch," Chelsea Clinton said. "But my mom, she was amazing. She took a little time to replenish her spirit -- family movie night definitely helped," adding that while her father loved the "Police Academy" comedies, she and her mother preferred "Pride and Prejudice."
Ticking off her mother's work with foster children, 9/11 first responders as a New York senator, and for women around the world as secretary of state, Chelsea said: "She never forgets who she's fighting for."
Ultimately, Clinton attempted to show Americans "who my mom is -- a listener and a doer, a woman driven by compassion, by faith, by kindness, a fierce sense of justice, and a heart full of love."
"This November, I'm voting for a woman who is my role model as a mother and as an advocate," she said. "A woman who has spent her entire life working for children and families."
In parting, Clinton congratulated her mother and told her how proud she was.
"I hope that one day my children will be as proud of me as I am of my mother," she said. "I'm so grateful to be her daughter. I'm so grateful that she's Charlotte and Aidan's grandmother. She makes me proud every single day."
"And mom," Clinton added, "Grandma would be so proud of you tonight."
And when her mother walked on stage to thunderous cheers, after the movie of her life played out on the convention stage, mother and daughter embraced silently for a long moment before Hillary Clinton walked to the podium to accept her party's nomination.