Clinton spent much of the speech embracing Obama's legacy, calling it a "great compliment" that Republicans often mention her name alongside Obamas, and slamming the Republicans who just two days earlier took the stage in town to rip him to shreds in their debate.

A bare 51 percent majority of the public approves of President Obama's job performance in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, while 45 percent disapproves. Although tepidly positive, those are Obama's best numbers since May 2013 in Post-ABC surveys.

The movement in his ratings — which we would emphasize has not yet been verified in other public polls — has been slight on a month-to-month basis. But his ratings have moved in a positive direction in two consecutive Post-ABC surveys. In May and July, Obama's ratings were more negative than positive, with 45 percent to 46 percent approving and 50 percent disapproving of his performance. That tipped the other way in September, to 49 percent approval and 46 percent disapproval. And that slight shift has continued in the latest survey.