When Bill Clinton takes to the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, it will mark the tenth consecutive DNC at which the former president has delivered a major address—an impressive run that tracks the evolution of nearly four decades of American politics, and makes him one of the most prolific speakers in party history.
Clinton attended the DNC briefly in 1976, as both he—then on his way to becoming Arkansas’ Attorney General—and Hillary Clinton describe in their memoirs, on their way to a trip to Europe. When he returned in 1980, it was as the nation’s youngest governor and the man chosen to speak for the Democratic Governors’ Association. Though he was scheduled for early in the night and wasn’t necessarily expected to make news, his speech urging the party not to ignore the appeal of Ronald Reagan would prove prescient. Clinton was unseated later that year by voters who TIME noted were “fed up with his national ambitions” but was reelected to the governorship in 1982. So when he returned to the convention as a speaker in 1984, he was already the “Comeback Kid” that he would later call himself. (He received positive reviews for that appearance.)
In 1988, however, things didn’t go as well. TIME dubbed his address “The Speech That Would Not End,” noting that he “stuck with a 19-page snoozer of a nominating speech through signals from the chairman to stop, through a flashing red light and through index fingers drawn across the throat.” But the negative reviews of his appearance hurt his national momentum, but it was later reported that the drubbing he received made Arkansans defensive and actually added to his popularity at home.
Hillary and Bill Clinton’s Political Romance in Photos
Hillary and Bill Clinton have been married 40 years— much of it spent in the political spotlight. Here, Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton married at a small ceremony on Oct. 11, 1975 - present
Courtesy William J. Clinton Presidential LibraryCourtesy William J. Clinton Presidential LibraryArkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Rodham hold their week-old baby Chelsea on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—APFormer Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton celebrate his victory in the Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982.APDemocratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton hugs his wife Hillary Clinton after she introduced him to well wishers at a downtown Chicago hotel, March 10, 1992. Ralf-Finn Hestoft—APHillary Rodham Clinton sits on the lap of her husband, democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton left, as she jokes with vice presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, during a brief rest on their bus in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 26, 1992. Stephen Savoia—APArkansas Gov. Bill Clinton comforts his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton on the set of the news program '60 Minutes' after a stage light unexpectedly broke loose from the ceiling and knocked her down on Jan. 26, 1992. CBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesPresident Bill Clinton dances with First Lady Hillary Clinton on stage on Jan. 20, 1993 in Washington. Eleven inaugural balls were held on the same evening in honor of President Clinton's election.Diana Walker—Liaison/Getty ImagesPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton give each other a hug while playing golf at the Mink Meadows Golf Club on Martha's Vineyard Aug. 27,1993 in Massachusetts. J. David Ake—AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton cut vegetables at the Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, on Nov. 24, 1993. Doug Mills—APPresident Bill Clinton bikes with his wife, Hillary Clinton, during their vacation on Martha's Vineyard in 1994. Evan Richman—The Boston Globe/Getty ImagesPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton drink Coca-Cola at Moscow's Coca-Cola refreshments plant on May 11, 1995. Greg Gibson—APPresident Bill Clinton puts an arm around his wife, Hillary Clinton, while watching Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., on Aug. 25, 1995. The first family visited several Yellowstone sites while on vacation. Doug Mills—APPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton share a moment during an East Room ceremony at the White House on July 17, 1996.Ron Edmonds—APPresident Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton look at each other as they opened the White House Conference on Child Care Thursday Oct. 23, 1997 in the East Room of the White House. J. Scott Applewhite—APFirst Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton visits President Bill Clinton on March 14, 1997 at Bethesda Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. after he underwent surgery on his knee. APFirst lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, squeezes the chin of President Bill Clinton during the kick-off rally for The President's Summit in Philadelphia on April 27, 1997. Tim Shaffer—APPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton dance on the beach of Megan Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands shortly after taking a swim on Jan. 4, 1998.Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty ImagesFirst Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton watches President Bill Clinton as he thanks Democratic members of the House of Representatives who voted against impeachment on Dec. 19, 1998, following the Lewinsky scandal.Susan Walsh—APPresident Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton embrace during the New York State Senate luncheon on July 29, 2000 in New York City.Pablo Martinex Monsivais—APSenatorial candidate for New York and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton with husband President Bill Clinton pose for photos with the workers at Gianelli's Italian Sausages at the State Fair on Sept. 2, 2000 in Syracuse, N.Y.Tim Sloan—AFP/Getty ImagesNew York Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband former President Bill Clinton smile after she won her second term, during a rally held by New York Democrats, in New York, on Nov. 7, 2006. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty ImagesDemocratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is hugged by her husband, former President Bill Clinton as he introduces her during a campaign rally in Louisville, Ky. on May 19, 2008. Elise Amendola—APFormer President Bill Clinton and then Secretary of State-elect Hillary Clinton celebrate the beginning of the year 2009 during the ceremony to lower the Times Square New Year's Eve ball in Times Square on Jan. 1, 2009 in New York.Jemal Countess—Getty ImagesDemocratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband former U.S. president Bill Clinton embrace during a primary night event on June 7, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York after Hillary Clinton surpassed the number of delegates needed to become the democratic nominee.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images
In 1992 and 1996, the situation was, of course, a bit different: Clinton was the candidate.
In 1992, he drew positive reviews for a speech that TIME noted “adroitly pitched the Democratic tent in the middle-class backyard” and issued a strong challenge to incumbent President Bush: ”And so I say, George Bush, if you won’t use your power to help America, step aside. I will.” (Clinton was also helped by the fact that Ross Perot withdrew his candidacy from the race on the same day.) The second time around, his speech was used, per TIME’s analysis, “to reassert his role as Daddy-in-Chief” while listing the policy goals that would build what he called a “bridge to the future.” (Again, other news distracted voters that day, but it was bad news for Clinton this time around: his campaign strategist Dick Morris had been caught up in a sex scandal.)
In 2000, he appeared on the first night of the convention to praise his vice president Al Gore, who was then running for the White House—even though Gore was cautious about his association with the post-scandal president—and in 2004, Clinton’s speech supporting John Kerry was described as “ringing.” In 2008, he pulled off the slightly awkward role of supporting Barack Obama, who had just beaten Hillary Clinton for the nomination—and he repeated that role, without the contentious primary, in 2012.
Here, take a look back through Bill Clinton’s DNC highlight reel, as he prepares to add one more convention to his résumé.
