DENVER—It took Bill Clinton a while to start his speech last night, such was the robust and sustained cheering that greeted his entrance onto the stage here at the Pepsi Center. At least for one evening, it was easy to forget all the bitterness of the primary campaign.

Did Clinton’s behavior during the primary race—namely, his attacks on Barack Obama—bruise his image among many Democrats? Certainly. But as he demonstrated last night, the 42nd president still has a matchless ability to fire up Democratic audiences.

Clinton is still seen by Democrats as a very successful president—and as a winner. Since 2000, pundits have discussed elections in terms of the “red” Republican states and the “blue” Democratic states. Clinton carried several post-2000 red states in both the 1992 and 1996 elections, including Ohio, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Nevada, and his home state of Arkansas. Even if we acknowledge the Ross Perot factor, Clinton’s red-state appeal was impressive, especially given the troubles that Al Gore and John Kerry faced in those states in 2000 and 2004, respectively.

Democrats tend to remember the 1990s as a time when a Democratic White House presided over historic prosperity and the party’s weakness on national security became less electorally salient. Despite the Lewinsky episode, impeachment, and myriad other scandals, Clinton left office with a high job approval rating.

Of course, many of his biggest achievements were ones that conservative Republicans could applaud, such as NAFTA, welfare reform, and a balanced budget. Clinton also cut capital gains taxes and signed the Defense of Marriage Act. With the help of former adviser Dick Morris, he embraced a strategy of “triangulation.” Though Clinton’s record included liberal initiatives on taxes, healthcare, gun control, global warming, and much else, the GOP takeover of Congress forced him to pivot rightward and become more pragmatic.

Today’s Democratic Party—which has moved in a notably populist direction, particularly on trade—is desperate to reclaim the White House. And, as many commentators have observed, Clinton is the only Democrat to win two presidential elections since FDR. Democrats seem inclined to forgive or forget his ideological deviations as president and focus instead on his electoral success and enduring popularity with large segments of the American public.

Clinton can certainly play to a crowd. Last night he echoed other Democrats in saying that the American Dream is “under siege.” He ticked off a litany of economic concerns and blamed the Republicans for mucking things up. He stressed the need to “restore America’s standing in the world.” He said that John McCain “is promising more of the same.” Most importantly, he urged Americans to elect Barack Obama, declaring that the Illinois senator “is on the right side of history.”

“He effortlessly mixed effective rhetoric with specific examples of the ills he believes the nation has suffered under eight years of Republican rule,” wrote Los Angeles Times blogger Don Frederick. “His conversational cadence and wry humor make the details he imparts easy to digest. It’s a style Obama could benefit from studying (especially the humor part).”

Indeed, Clinton has not lost his ability to blend an aw-shucks style with partisan fusillades. Despite everything, he can still make Democrats swoon.

Duncan Currie is managing editor of THE AMERICAN.

Photograph by Agence France-Presse/Getty.