Roll Call Vote To Be Held Wednesday In Convention; Clyburn, Reid, Wexler To Speak

Denver, CO (AHN) - The speech by Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) as the vice presidential nominee will be the headliner on the third day of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. But Democrats, pundits and Republicans will be watching out for two other events: an address by former President Bill Clinton and a roll call vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Bill Clinton was given a prime-time convention spot earlier this month by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) amid reports that Clinton backers were planning to force Democratic officials to include his wife's name in the nomination.

The former president has been conspicuously absent on the campaign trail since the sometimes racially charge primary season ended. In interviews, he has consistently given tepid praise for Obama and said he would "have more space to say what we believe to be the truth" after the elections.

His speech is scheduled just before Biden's address, which is usually made at 10 p.m. ET.

ABC's George Stephanopoulos said Tuesday Bill Clinton will "try to do what Hillary Clinton didn't do [in her convention speech]. He's gonna try to validate Barack Obama as commander-in-chief." Stephanopoulos also pointed out to the former president's decision not to attend Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday. "He says he doesn't want to 'suck the oxygen out of the room.' There might be some other interpretations of that," the former Clinton communications director said.

Clinton gave a rousing speech at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, directly calling on backers to unite behind her former rival while celebrating the historic quality of her primary campaign. But pundits have pointed out that she did explicitly say Obama is ready to lead - a fact that Republicans argue is evidence of a continued rift in the Democratic Party.

A roll call vote will be held Wednesday afternoon that will include the New York senator. It may be replaced by a vote-by-acclamation to nominate Obama. Clinton is unlikely to win even if some delegates try to vote for her, pundits say, since many of her delegates have switched their support to the Illinois senator. The state-by-state vote will be preceded by nominating speeches for Clinton and Obama.

Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN), John Kerry (D-MA) and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) will all talk about how to "secure America's future" on Wednesday, as will House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) and Rep Robert Wexler (D-FL). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will focus his speech on Obama's energy policy.

Other speakers include former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former Clinton Cabinet official who damaged his relations with the former president after endorsing Obama.

Wednesday's program will also feature a tribute tribute to veterans, all soldiers currently in the Middle East and their families to be led by Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth.