Hillary’s speech: Will it be enough?

The subtext of the convention so far has been whether Hillary Clinton’s supporters will ultimately back Barack Obama in overwhelming numbers. Whether that conflict is truly significant — or trumped up by the media — is an open question. But the fact that 27 percent of Clinton supporters surveyed by USA Today recently indicated that they would vote for John McCain certainly suggests that the schism is very real.

Clinton wasted no time in tonight’s speech attempting to make clear where she stands. “My friends, it is time to take back the country we love, and whether you voted for me or you voted for Barack the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” she told the convention. “We are on the same team, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future, and it is a fight we must win together.”

She then ticked off a litany of the country’s current woes: a massive deficit, spiraling college costs, terrorism, global warming. “Those are the reasons I ran for president and those are the reasons I support Barack Obama for president,” she said. “I want you to ask yourselves, ‘Were you in this campaign just for me?’”

Will it be enough for Clinton’s hardcore supporters? At least one of her most loyal Minnesota backers — Lynn Wilson (pictured), a nurse from Rochester — is now on board with Obama. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do tomorrow,” Wilson said after the speech. “I worked so hard for Hillary. But from what I saw tonight — the energy in this room, the hope, the opportunity — how could that be denied? And how could I not listen to her direction and vote for Barack Obama?”