Bill Clinton Tells The World About His Wife, ‘The Best Darn Change-Maker I Have Ever Known’

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Former President Bill Clinton took the stage Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention to offer a deeply personal and powerfully enthusiastic endorsement for his wife, the first female nominee from a major political party running for the very office he himself held.

The speech came just hours after Hillary Clinton was formally nominated to take on Republican Donald Trump in November's general election.

The former president told a captivated crowd, vacillating from silence to cheers, why his wife of more than 40 years — “the best darn change-maker I’ve ever known" — must be elected as the country’s next president.

Bill Clinton, thinner and visibly aged compared to his time as America’s president from 1993-2001, highlighted her years of advocacy on behalf of children, women, the poor, the disabled and members of the LGBT community. He told the crowd how the former secretary of state and New York senator is “never satisfied with the status quo” and is “always trying to move the ball forward.”

“Hillary will make us stronger together because she spent a lifetime doing it,” Bill Clinton said. “The reason you should elect her is because in the greatest country on earth, we have always been about tomorrow.”

The former president’s speech built up over the course of 40-plus minutes.

It began with a walk down nostalgia lane as he recounted the personal history of their life together, beginning at Yale Law School, continuing in Arkansas, and coming under the national spotlight during two terms in the White House as the Clintons became one of the most politically powerful couples in U.S. history.

“In the spring of 1971, I met a girl,” Clinton said, explaining how he first saw then-Hillary Rodham while they were classmates.

“The first time I saw her, we were, appropriately enough, in a class on political and civil rights,” he said, recalling her “big” blonde hair, “big” glasses and no makeup.

“She exuded strength” he said, as he began sharing details about their early life together, including his reluctance to introduce himself, their first meeting, their romance and eventual marriage.

He recalled having to propose three times before Hillary finally accepted. When they married in 1975, “I was still in awe after more than four years of being around her at how smart and strong and loving and caring she was,” he said.

During the course of the speech, the crowd was largely captivated. Interruptions from protesters, heard frequently the night before, were absent during Bill Clinton’s remarks.

The former president took every opportunity to point out his wife’s strengths and leadership, calling her the family’s “designated warrior.”

He called on Americans who “believe in making change from the bottom up” to vote for his wife, “if you believe the measure of change is how many people’s lives are better.”

Because Hillary, he said, “has been around a long time making people’s lives better. “

The former president’s speech capped the second evening of the Democratic National Convention, which continues through Thursday. Headlining speakers for Wednesday include President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

On Thursday, the four-day convention will culminate with a speech from the nominee herself.

She made a brief appearance before the Philadelphia convention, speaking via satellite from New York, and addressing the youngest members of the television crowd.

If any young girls had stayed up to watch the history being made, she told them, "I may be the first woman ever elected president — but you're next."

Click here to check out the day's events in Patch's Democratic National Convention blog.

PHOTO: Screenshot from DNC feed