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Embed from Getty Images President Barack Obama is probably the most popular politician in America right now. I don’t even think the residual love for Bill Clinton comes close. Obama’s last year in office has been bittersweet, of course, and we would be in such a different place if only Obama was running for a third term. That’s what I was thinking about last night… I wish this race was Obama vs. Trump. Because Obama would slay. On Day 3 of the DNC, the party brought out their heavy-hitters. It was a really great three-hour block of television, actually. First Biden, then Bloomberg, then Tim Kaine, then Obama. I’m not going to say that Obama gave his best speech ever, but this speech was easily in the Top Five. It was partly a farewell speech (SOB), partly a full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton and partly a takedown of Donald Trump. Obama balanced those three subjects brilliantly and, again, kudos to the speechwriters last night. I was genuinely surprised when Hillary Clinton came out at the end too. The biggest moment was when Obama said Hillary Clinton was the most qualified person to ever run for president: “You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the oval office. You can read about it, you can study it, but until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room. She’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes, what’s at stake for the working family for the senior citizen or the small business owner, for the soldier, for the veteran. And even in the midst of crisis, she listens to people and she keeps her cool and she treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds, no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits. That is the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire, and that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill Clinton, nobody, more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States… I hope you don’t mind, Bill, but I was just telling the truth, man.” [Via E! News] Because the Republican National Convention last week was so ceaselessly negative and pessimistic, the Democrats were able to take over the optimism franchise. Obama’s speech last night is being called Reagan-esque, because not only did he name-check Reagan, but he honestly borrowed the shiny-eyed Reagan-esque optimism of American pride. Now, all that being said… I still think Michelle Obama’s speech on Day 1 was probably the best speech of the convention! Take about five paragraphs out of that Obama speech and it could have been a Reagan speech. Trust me. I know. — John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 28, 2016 Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of Getty.