I have to admit it took a little while to form my opinion on Clinton’s weekend speech. I watched almost no commentary after it, opting instead to go buy a new printer, and I kept the television off for almost the entire weekend, instead spending my time with family and catching up on sleep. From the little I have read, many are heaping praise upon Clinton and the speech while a few seem to reflect my final conclusion.

I thought the speech was well written. I felt it laid out a wonderful set of reasons why hers was a real movement campaign, it captured the rooms complex and not entirely pleasant feelings about the moment, it achieved largely what it set out to do, end a campaign, thank Clinton’s supporters and of course lay the groundwork for unifying the Democratic Party. What it wasn’t, in many ways, was an actual concession speech, it was more a way of saying “goodbye for now”. I could not help but think about talk show host Johnny Carson’s final message in which he gave hope to the audience that he may return some day in some other form and gave hope that if he did, they would come back to join him.

Yes her speech recognized Obama’s triumph, but it spent far more time placing the emphasis on Clinton herself.

I noted my reaction to Clinton’s “need for time” last week. Frankly I still don’t know entirely what was accomplished in those few days after Tuesday’s primaries that could not have been accomplished in a simple concession speech given that night. My only guess is that all of the reports of the candidate being unsure of what to do, almost delusional about her chances, were actually true. Clinton might not have been able to give the speech Tuesday night because she hadn’t written it or even given an honest thought that she might have to.

The moments when Clinton gave praise to Obama did not sell as well Saturday as the moments when she gave praise to herself. The spirit wasn’t there and the short waves of “boos” heard mixed into the short waves of applause whenever the Senator called for her supporters to move on were emblematic of the expression on Clinton’s own face. She often seemed caught between sincerity in her desire to now support her former opponent and true disgust at the thought.

Media pundits, reporters, guests and anchors all seemed focused on the notion of Clinton as VP. There was some overwhelming sense that Obama “had to” place her on the ticket for at least a few hours in the last week and the rest of the time was spent with the media almost demanding Obama make the decision immediately. I thought the most telling moment of this speculation arose during Clinton and Obama’s “secret meeting” as CNN reported for some great length of time that the two were meeting at Clinton’s home.

The pundits noted relentlessly the symbolism behind Obama “going to her” as they speculated that if he had made up his mind to reject her, he would have to do it then and there. Not long after, as they deconstructed the symbolism of the meeting place, it was revealed the two were actually taking refuge from the spotlight at Senator Diane Feinstein’s home. With their endless chatter now invalid the pundits began deconstructing the meaning of this meeting spot as if the unenlightened banter of the preceding moments hadn’t ever taken place.

For all the speculation of Clinton as VP after watching her speech I was left with a thought. Clinton won’t matter much in the coming weeks or months, not if Obama doesn’t place her on the ticket. She will matter no more than Edwards or Biden, Richardson or Kucinich, Gravel or Dodd, not unless she makes herself a spectacle. Not unless she attempts to regain the spotlight once again, as she did in the slightest way this past week, while turning the attention back on herself.

The speech was an interesting one, not because it will truly lead her followers to rise up in support of the other candidate because they were asked to, but because with many of them, that will simply happen organically as they go home, take some time and think about their decision. On Saturday Clinton was trying to hold onto the last few inches of rope that tied the Clinton’s to their long-held ownership of the Democratic Party.

In this, the speech was an amazing turning point, a wonderful illustration of someone hanging on a little too long, not exiting even after the lights turned on, the band stopped playing and the people began to get out of their seats and go home. It was a good speech, one where Clinton could be heard saying “just one more song, just one more dance, don’t go yet” as the Democratic Party moved on to something else and the media gave her one final bow.